Legend of Spyro: Corrupted Souls
by Dawn Of Oblivion
Summary: When a war ends, you expect peace, but when a hero lives through his story, you expect more conflict. When Spyro returns, alone, he discovers that everyone was told he was dead, and they believed it. The Elders have betrayed him, the city no longer trusts him, and more dragons are being slaughtered. His legend hasn't ended just yet, he has one more nightmare to pull through.
1. Loss

**Legend of Spyro: Corrupted Souls**

**Loss**

"Why has the world done this to me...?" These words exited the purple dragon's mouth as he stared upon the vast open field of Avalar. Spyro, the only dragon that controlled and harnessed the elements Fire, Ice, Earth, and Lighting. He was free to roam across the lands of the world now that he has defeated the Dark Master, Malefor, and has once again brought peace and harmony in existence. But now, he was alone, sad and depressed. Staring into the sunset that drifted above a cliff in the forest of Avalar. Thinking, Remembering, Wondering. Thinking about why Cynder would make such a drastic choice.

Cynder, was once his companion in defeating the Dark Master. Which wasn't entirely her decision since they were bound together by a green chain created by dark magic. Her affliction with the Dark Master's control allowed to possess the powers of Poison, Shadow, Wind and Fear.

But now, after all the strength consuming events they had been through, she made a decision that pierced a knife into Spyro's heart.

Remembering how it all had just gone away.

"Spyro..." Cynder had his attention full a clear. Spyro stared with a happy smile while sitting next to the river. They had spent their recent time flying over the Valley of Avalar, enjoying the pleasant feeling of peace. But the black dragoness had just recalled recent events in the area; Cynder hesitated on her upcoming words.

"Spyro, why do you love me?" She asked. The purple dragon's emotions went from relaxed to concern from this question. He kept calm but stumbled on his words. "Well...umm... I love you this way because you were... Always there for me. I always trusted as a good companion so I had that feeling grow more and more and well." Spyro looked upon his reflection in the crystal clear water. "That's what got us here today..." He was content with his choice of words. Yet the nagging feeling remained as to why his mate would ask such a curious question.

"You shouldn't even let me near you!" She said, anger behind her words. Spyro immediately sprang up right; he could see tears forming in Cynder's eyes. He was panicking, he didn't know where the sudden hostility came from. He couldn't say a word.

"I tried and almost succeeded to kill you Spyro. I was a soul that needed no concern or hospitality!" She continued. Cynder got up from her position and gave Spyro a sadden look. "I can't be here..." She turned away from Spyro's dumbfounded gaze. He could sense his whole life falling apart for every word Cynder said. Spyro jumped up, unfurled his wings, and flew in front of her.

"Cynder Stop!" He pleaded. "There's no need for this! Malefor is dead and gone! He shouldn't be the problem here again! What is it that is causing this?!" He cried. Tears rolled over Cynder's already heart fallen expression.

"Remember back the Temple; I said 'I don't want you to go.' I meant that there and I mean that now!" Spyro's voiced cracked under his pained emotions. "If it's about the same thing as last time there, then please understand that you could never be a danger me."

The tension between them grew as well as Cynder's guilt and frustration. "...That's just it... I don't know what else to expect that could kill you! I'm not leaving because I can't kill you Spyro!" She screamed. "It's because I can and would!"

Those words hit Spyro hard, there were words he never expected or wanted to hear from her. Cynder pushed him aside very roughly and stomped forward preparing her red wings for flight. Spyro had fallen into the rocks by the river, his cheek was bleeding from the sharp edges of earth. Blood and tears fell off the sides of his crestfallen face. He struggled to regain his composure, desperate to keep Cynder from leaving him again.

"You said you loved me before the world shattered and then..." Spyro fought back his own tears, not wanting to take in what was happening. "Then you promised you wouldn't dare leave me... What is difference between then and now!?" He cried with the sadness and fear of losing what he fought an army for.

Tears filled both dragon's eyes. One cause of sadness and fear. One only because of fear of loss. Cynder looked back one more time; her Shadow ability had constricted the purple dragon to the ground. Spyro gazed at his mate, the sun behind her head casting a shadow over him. Her eyes filled with loss and regret.

"I am sorry you loved me..." Were her final words before she left him with nothing.

Wondering why... why go at such peaceful times. Why leave everything they saved just to have precautions about deadly situations that were never to happen.

"Why...why...WHY!?"

More tears. Even though the event took place weeks ago. Those words still filled his ears. 'I am sorry you loved me...' Spyro clenched the earth beneath him with claws of anger. His eyes were shut tight trying to prevent more tears. He yelled in desperation, screamed in anger, and cried in regret. Hero of the world and destroyer of demons. Crying at one loss of someone he couldn't hold on screamed again out of sadness, then anger, then misery.

His eyelids lifted to reveal the ungodly white pupil less eyes. His scales turned charcoal black in a dance of shadows. Negative emotions consuming, his overwhelming chaotic strength become too much to contain, his wings snapped open in a smoke of shadow and Spyro threw himself off the edge.

'Just like old times huh Spyro?'

The shadow cloaked dragon released a wave of dark purple energy, which slammed into the face of the cliff throwing rocks and debris into the sky.

'No! Spyro stop!'

'You can't stop me!'

The dragon of legend was unable to hold back his fury any longer. With a roar of satisfaction and rage, his demonic Convexity power unleashed. It collided with the ground conjuring many waves of dark energy, Spyro continued to barrage the ground until everything died around the collision.

'You're right, only you can do that... please!'

The pillar of purple light proceeded to cause uproar of power.

On the outside he was roaring in hostility and sorrow, on the inside his demon laughed in triumph and greed.

'I am sorry you loved me'

"...No..."

The darkness surrounding and covering his purple scales gradually faded away. The colossal dark energy dispersed into nothing and his Convexity disappeared.

"I can't let it consume like last time. I can live... I can live..." Spyro reassured himself. He caught himself in mid air and hover towards safe ground, walking away from the crater. He had to keep away from the darkness of the soul that has been corrupted by misery and malice. "...I'll find you Cynder, I will make everything right again. I'll find you, I promise."

He looked out into the horizon of the setting sun. "Give me a few days."

Days turned into weeks and weeks turned into months. Every time Spyro lost hope he would bash himself into a rock and stop mourning. He almost lost his sanity which made him starve for more time.

He continued on, flying through the skies desperately wanting to uphold his promise. Many had see him traveling and would only have the time to stare. Spyro would look back, he would see some dragons that looked like they haven't eaten in days, some even sleeping in small nests with other dragons. The world was suffering from the uncompleted Armageddon and the Destroyer's aftermath. This made him realize how most lives had more problems and sadness then he did.

The longer he flew through the clouds the more he continued to lose hope.

But until one day...

Spyro sighed as he exited another cloud. He made another glance at the river, falling prey to thirst, and suddenly his face lite up. "A black dragon!" His heart skipped a beat and was filled with rapture. Spyro's wings folded and he descended downwards.

Spyro landed gracefully on the soft grass, he had to make sure it was the dragon he was looking for. He called out to the dragon drinking the river water.

"Hey! Is that you Cyn-" His line was cut as his body was pushed by a red powerful force. A screeching terror that collided him against a tree. The power stop and only to find himself pushed back again by a dragon's arm.

"Look here you thief!" The stranger commanded. Spyro opened his eyes to see an angry dark green dragon growling in his face.

The dragon's horns were curved to the side, corners had been chipped off. His right brown eye was slashed, which made the eye uncoordinated. Spyro had mistaken his color from above and now he was regretted the action to confront him.

"Who do you think you are, taking my-!" The dragon suddenly had a change of heart when he too found out he was referring to the wrong dragon.

Spyro was surprised and such attitude to himself. As much as he hated being formal and commanding, he replied:"I, am Spyro the purple dragon of the world and savior of it as well! Who do you think you are speaking to me in such a way!"

There was a long pause. The green dragon made a small smirk and loosened his grip. "Spyro the Dragon huh?" He let go of him completely and walked away a few feet.

"I guess dreams come true..." He muttered under his breath. He turned back to Spyro. "The name's Zekee, the only dragon to control the Fear ability." He introduced himself. Spyro took a breath, "You're not the only one actually..." Zekee made a confused look at the purple dragon.

"What makes you say that?" Zekee asked. Spyro sighed; he debated about answering that question. "Reasons..." Was he all could say. Zekee made a look at him, contemplating that might not be telling the truth. Spyro grunted and got to his feet, and then before he could apologize for the intrusion, a thought dawned on him.

"That was a very powerful screech, but you appear to be the scale color of an earth dragon. Why is that?" The question seemed to be common for Zekee. The green dragon turned to his side, revealing to Spyro his brown scared torso and his chipped, flail-like tail.

Zeke's expression turned dark. His eyes squinted and he faced his own reflection in the water. "...When a heart breaks... You twist the pieces together and freeze it tight... Dragons can change if they want to. It takes great talent, but sometimes we're forced into it..." The dark green dragon again looked at Spyro with a hostile face. Spyro didn't react to the expression but instead took in these words. It seems to have an effect on him.

Zeke grunted, half expecting a cruel retort, and started to walk away to the forest. "When we change, we change for a reason. Most for a lot of reasons. Like me, I was forced into this darkness. Though I had no regret, I still feel pity for those who can't transform..." The fearsome dragon slowly dispersed into the shadows of the trees.

"Nice meeting you purple dragon, if you find a dragon named Teranis, kick his ass for me will you?" The mysterious green dragon then disappeared.

This left the weary purple dragon alone again. He stood there thinking if he should proceed with his year long search, or find a place to rest... He decided to find an area to take a quick nap so he once again spread his wings. Stretching them out and flapping them a few times, he lifted off the ground and once again flew into the sky.

The more he looked for a suitable shelter; he saw more creatures that have grown to the point of death. There were slowly moving to the water source, like soldiers walking away from a battle and heading back the home base.

Spyro could do nothing but watch. Watch as some of these innocent living beings half dead wanting their old life back.

The purple dragon finally noticed a cavern on the side of a cliff, and entered it with caution. "Hello? Does anyone live here?" He called out.

There came a silent reply. Spyro looked around and saw no signs of anything that looked like life was here. In fact, from the looks of the walls and dust shadows. This cavern seemed to have been a camp for dragon soldiers during the Eternal Night. Spyro sighed and lay down on the softest spot in the cave and slowly closed his tired eyes. His dreams took control of his awareness...

The dragon did not have any clue, but the ground beneath him cracked, and the floors began to fall inwards. The ground beneath Spyro completely gave in and Spyro fell into a deep hole in the cliff's cavern.

All that Spyro saw, all that he felt... was Nothing...


	2. Demon

**Legend of Spyro: Corrupted Souls**

**Demon**

Spyro awoke to find himself in hell.

The temperature of the pit he fallen into was beyond the measure of his own fire element. Yet, he could handle the pressure, telling him he was immune to pain. Only physical pain that is, much to his disappointment.

He made an attempt to stand, and failed. The fall he never knew he took had caused much weakening to his underbelly and back legs. He knew he was weak, but he didn't feel it.

Facing the fact he was immobilized, he instead moved his head away from the sight of the dark wall and examined the cavern he had unknowingly discovered.

It was familiar and yet he couldn't remember ever being here. It looked like a round court room, with seating that resembled a crescent moon.

He was here once, for a desperate reason he couldn't bring himself to remember. Slowly, small details were coming back to him. Something started here, something also ended, there were many deaths, but he survived. He came here for... a very good reason, which ended up as a horrible mistake in the end.

"Do you remember now young dragon."

Spyro was momentarily frightened at the voice. It was a voice he feared but also wanted to hear. Somewhere in his thoughts he was recalling that this was a voice of an Ancestor; an Ancestor that had spoken to him here in this exact room.

"I know you, I met you here, you gave me... something."

Usually in past years he would've gone into caution and defensive moods, but now he couldn't care less. He wanted answers.

"That's right Spyro; it was here both purple dragons, you and Malefor, gained a special ability that only the Ancestors possessed."

Spyro was dazed in confusion and paranoia now. There was another connection between him and Malefor, other than the color of their scales, and their ability to harness the power of the four light elements. This Ancestor had given both of them a power the belonged to the Ancestors themselves.

Then it hit him. He suddenly felt his strength coursing through his body. Now using his regained energy, he took off beating his wings heavily, headed towards the center of the court with the sudden revelation.

"I knew you had the self-control to harness this raw power in due time, unlike our previous hero."

The memories were flooding back to him.

"This is where it all started Spyro, and where it shall end, as it did for Malefor."

Spyro was overwhelmed by the all the immediate news. It was stressing him out and his head hurt from the painful memories of Cynder. Who was also involved in the event that he was recollecting.

"Do you know the blessing I bestowed upon you all those years ago during the Eternal Night?"

Spyro screamed, madness was consuming him, he could feel the dark rage that had taken control of him times before was creeping back again. The horrid raw force that slowly covered his scales was fueled by the misery and loneliness the Spyro was recalling. In the longshot, Cynder was the reason he even had this curse.

"I, Oblivion the Birth of Shadow, gave you the gift of Convexity..."

Then the nightmare ended long enough for Spyro to regain his senses. Only to see a black and yellow scaled dragoness staring into his eyes with concern.

"It's you isn't? It's really you! Thank the Ancestors! We need your help Spyro, we're being slaughtered!"


	3. Innocence

**Legend of Spyro: Corrupted Souls**

**Innocence**

"Wait just hold on a moment."

Both Spyro and the new dragoness stopped at the mouth of the cave. Spyro had 'slept' through the night, the morning sun was on the horizon casting a long shadow of both dragons that went into the cave.

"Who are you exactly? I haven't met any other dragon since... well for a long time now." Spyro did not care to mention Cynder or Xeke to the stranger. Even if she may already know from the stories that have most likely spread around.

"I'm sorry for rushing you Spyro," She said this with a bow, "If I may call you that?" She replied.

Spyro hated the fact that he was known for his actions so much he was bowed to. He wanted to be equal among dragons, not high above and demanding respect.

He sighed; "Get up, everyone is allowed to call me Spyro. Not 'Legendary Purple Dragon', or 'The Dragon of Legend'. None of the Heroic nonsense alright?" The dragoness quickly nodded and discontinued her bow.

"Sorry Spyro, My name is Skyla, we were on a scouting mission to locate other colonies, but when we were tipped off that you have been spotted around this mountain, we thought you would be a bigger priority..." She trailed off while shuffling her paws. Spyro had a feeling it was not the right time discuss the other events.

"Alright take me to the situation, tell me on the way."

Skyla nodded, snapped her wings open and took off above the cavern entrance. Spyro followed her, he winced as he flapped his wings to gain altitude. His prolonged travels had taken its toll on his wings, but the dragoness said there were dragons in trouble so he pushed forward.

Spyro's morning vision started to fade and he could see much more clear than before in the cave. He was able to better identify Skyla's appearance as well.

She had white and yellow pattern scales, she had a similar horn shape to Spyro's except smaller, her eye color was a mimic of the clear sky, and her white wings had a blue tint, same for the membranes. She had the body shape that reminded Spyro of... Cynder.

Spyro looked away, not wanting memories to come back at the moment. He had to focus.

Then he realized Skyla was talking.

"We don't know what is really. We were f-flying above the forest when one of our m- members took a sudden drop towards the ground. Then two others plummeted down as w-well. There was... b-blood... falling with them."

Spyro could tell she was remembering some horrifying events. The way she was stuttering was one of the clues, but he could also see a small shimmering reflection of blood that dripped of her left horn. She was clearly in the middle of the blood bath.

"You don't know who was attacking?"

"No! I could only see them falling with those, bloodshot eyes, we didn't see anything that could have caused it. My brother told me to back to Warfang but..."

'She thought if she could find me I could help.' Spyro thought.

Spyro noticed a change in overlook of the forest. There were multiple trees that looked trampled, as though something fell on them; Spyro figured this was the destination. Skyla noticed too, she took a breath and looked at Spyro, but before she could tell him anything:

"I'll take care of it, I'll find your brother and whoever else is alive, and you go to Warfang and report to the Guardians, I'm guessing they're still alive." Spyro had a grudge with the Elders; he himself was still trying to understand it.

Skyla nodded. "Yes they are, but I want to help!" Spyro could tell she was panicking over the thought of not being aware of what happened to her brother.

"You searched for me so that I may help, right? I'm helping now, you can as well by alerting the Guardians that for one: I am alive, and two, your brother is danger as well as your group." Spyro demanded. He hated having to order, being higher than others, but he needed Skyla to cooperate.

"Alright Spyro, I'll go as quickly as I can!" She agreed.

A sudden after-thought came to Spyro however; he contemplated on whether or not Skyla could reach the Guardians in time. But he was proved wrong when Skyla tucked her wings over her head and a strong gust of wind began to arise. Before Spyro could question what was occurring, her wings shot back and the dragoness was immediately flying away at a speed Spyro had never seen before.

"Huh, and here I thought she was an electric dragon, no wonder she seemed sure of herself." Spyro muttered to himself, before diving into the wilderness below, knowing this would be his first battle in a long time.

-Minutes Later-

"Guardians! Guardians! We found Spyro but my group is in trouble!" Skyla said with haste.

"Spyro? We thought he was... never mind. What is happening with your group? And why aren't you there?" Said in tone of feigned concerned.

"Spyro's back! He is trying to help my group right now but I had to report to you!" She cried.

"Was anyone else with the purple dragon?" Said the yellow scaled elder.

"N-No... but we need help!" 'Why were the elders concerned about Spyro's existence more than her brother?' She thought to herself. 'Dragons are being slain and they're acting as though Spyro was a part of it.'

"That solves one problem." Said a low voice.

"But also creates another." Replied the casual voice.

Now Skyla was left completely in the dark. Why was the absence of Spyro's companion and Ignitus a problem solver? Then the elders looked back at Skyla.

"Alright, find Hunter at the barracks, he will assist you." The low voice replied.

Skyla quickly took off so she wouldn't waste any more time. As she flew out of the temple, the guardians turned to each other.

"He's alive, and supposing Cynder and Ignitus are gone, I do believe the real legend starts. Am I correct?" Asked the yellow elder.

"Yes Volteer, with Malefor gone, we can finally continue into the age, and hopefully can keep it at ease while we get the break we deserved for so long." Replied the blue elder.

"We can only hope so Cyril, remember, your path had once crossed with Spyro's life a long time ago. It may come back around again." Stated the low voice.

Then there another dragon that came into the conversation.

"Every purple dragon that has come into a moment of loss and misery has always been known to become intertwined with Convexity Terrador. With that power, even beyond our Ancestor's control, let us hope none of you come into battle with the current legendary purple dragon."

All three Guardians nodded in agreement.

Above the four of them in the ceiling, was a faint yellow glow emitting from a hollowed corner. The dragonfly causing the light had overheard the conversation below.

"Bro, I hope you make it back soon, I'm sure how long it will be before more dragons want us dead..."


	4. Instinct

**Legend of Spyro: Corrupted Souls**

**Instinct**

Spyro nose dived into the abundance of trees, specifically aiming for the area that looked most disturbed.

He had no plan, no information then the fact that dragons were in distress, or dead, and he hadn't used his powers in months. In a way, he saw this as a kick start. For what exactly it was a kick start for, he wasn't entirely too sure.

Spyro dodged through the broken limbs of the fallen oak. He reached the ground with a very awkward landing. He still needed to work on that.

He examined the area, and it was unmistakably the battleground for an ambush. There were trees with scorch marks dragged from the bark to the grass, upturned dirt, small puddles of cold water scattered in random spots, there also signs of rock pulled from under the earth and moved or thrown across the field.

"Okay, I'm seeing all the signs except for a dragon that controls electricity..."

Then he saw the blood trail. It had directed Spyro deeper into the forest, as he followed the clue farther away from the initial battle zone, reminisce of the fighting grew more powerful in size.

"It went from ambush to retaliation..." He studied another pool of blood that smeared across the grass.

"Then it turned into a slaughter house..."

His thoughts were cut by the sound of a distant cry of pain. Spyro immediately tracked the source of the sound. The closer he got, he could make out the sounds of spewed fire and shattering of ice, which was mixed with battle cries and yelps of pain.

Spyro dashed through more undergrowth eager to fight once more, while also determined to keep his promise with Skyla.

He scorched the last bush that was once in his path. He rushed through the opening to see a gruesome fight.

Two dragons were standing their ground in the battle stance positions, both back to back covering all openings. Around them laid the rest of the search party: there were five other dragons that had met their fate quicker than the two survivors ahead. From what Spyro could tell, it was either the necks were slashed, or they lost too much blood from the deep gashes that appeared on their chests.

Spyro eyed the remaining duo. One had a similar color scheme to that of Skyla's Spyro knew that this must be her brother; he appeared to be around the same age as her, which was close to Spyro's. The other dragon was the size of an elder; he towered over his companion with his ageing orange scales. His wings were a bright yellow and his horns resembled what Syro's would possibly be.

This was all Spyro could identify before he finally meet the ambushers, the culprits behind the slaughter, and it happen so fast that Spyro knew why the search party didn't stand a chance.

The first ice dragon had conjured itself from a nearby puddle. It was the shape of a serpent and moved swiftly through the air as it cut across the elder dragon's back. The orange elder howled in pain. Blood trailed after the fast serpent as it retreated into a similar water pile to the one it had emerged from.

At the same time, a twin serpent had shot out from a third water pool; it was aiming its body at the younger dragon. Spyro could not imagine Skyla's sibling's chances being good, so he was already charging at the serpent's target zone, and launched a quick bolt of electricity.

His aim was a close miss; the yellow charge of energy struck at the head of the ice serpent and surged through the monster. In an instant, the snake like murderer shattered into a couple dozen shards of ice. The icicles sprayed across the grass and formed another puddle of light blue water. As soon as it appeared the initial serpent Spyro had seen emerged from it.

The slithery, yet aerodynamic, snake screeched as it hurdled to Spyro. For a quick second Spyro felt intimidated by the fierce cry of the creature. Then he remembered his instincts of being the purple dragon, and the ice serpent was engulfed in Spyro's flames to become a useless cloud of mist.

"Wha... what just happened?" Came a young voice.

The elder was silent.

"Are you two okay, as in, no deadly slashes?" Spyro asked.

"It's you, she really found you. Yeah, we're fine thanks to you but, the others..."

His voice trailed off and the elder closed his eyes in exhaustion.

"How did you get attacked like that in first placed, these things seem pretty easy to kill."

"Trust me, they was a whole lot more beforehand. We couldn't keep track of them all, every time one went down, they would use what was left of it as a portal of some sort." The dragon said with a hint of fear.

Spyro looked among the fallen group. I hurt him to realize that they were only trying to find more of their species, only to get slaughtered by devilish creatures.

"Well, whatever they were, their dead now..."

After Spyro had properly introduced himself to the two survivors, Lucran being the name of the smaller dragon, and Desmond being the elder, he was pleased to know that Warfang was still intact. From what the pair told him, it was even better than before. As for the return home, Spyro soon heard the familiar sound of beating wings, and rapid footsteps.

Spyro found himself overwhelmed with the large amount of cheetahs and dragons. Few he recognized from the war in Warfang and the Valley conflict. But others were completely new to him. He noticed that as the rescue party surrounded the three of them, the older dragons would give Spyro cautious looks.

"Well, every time we meet Spyro, there always seems trouble in the midst." A voice said from a crowd of cheetahs. Spyro smiled as he recognized the sound of a true friend. The cheetahs parted as they allowed their troop leader to walk by.

"At least this time you're not having to saving my life again, Hunter." Spyro replied.

Hunter laughed as he brought Spyro into a side hug.

"Yes, as I would like to ask you about your recent whereabouts, I think a proper transport is needed for these poor souls." He said as he directed his attention to the murdered dragons. Dragons around him nodded in agreement as they began to lift their fallen species unto their backs. Then Lucran came running towards Hunter.

"My sister, did she make it back? Is she okay?" He cried out.

Hunter raised his paw to calm the electric dragon. "She's fine, she burned out all of her energy to get to us as fast as she did, and she is resting at the Temple as we speak." Hunter replied.

Lucran, now feeling relieved, smiled and nodded then rushed off to help in the process of moving the dead warriors.

Hunter smirked at Lucran, and signaled his warriors to gather for a return journey.

"Has anything changed?" Spyro asked.

"Personally or...?"

"With Warfang, has anything changed?"

"...I think you should find out for yourself. I know you're worried if it was too late." Hunter replied. Spyro knew what he was referring to. Most of the world had already shattered before Spyro had made his move to bring it together.

"The giant cracks that remained from the Destroyer's Ring have caused disruption in some cases. We called the cracks 'Scars' in fact, just thought you would want to know. But Warfang is still the great city it was before the war, it's changed though..." Hunter trailed off, trying to find the right words to explain.

Spyro looked at Hunter, confused by his loss of words.

Hunter sighed. "Follow the transport, when you see Warfang, try your best to stay back from the group until they have brought the fallen dragons to the burial grounds. Then you may reveal yourself. I'll explain later."

Spyro was gaining more confusion at Hunter's reply. Before he could ask for an early explanation, Hunter was already dashing into the trees his troop members following close behind him.

Spyro turned to the dragons that were already taking off into the clouds. Spyro quickly launched himself into the sky to follow the transport, keeping his distance.

Thousands of questions were running through his mind, questions about Warfang, the new dragons, the Scars.

He decided to push these distractions to the back of his head, he needed to concentrate on his return home before he was to do anything else, and answers would come to him later if he would wait.

When his choice was made, he continued his pursuit on the transport. If anything went wrong at Warfang, he would just have to improvise.


	5. Denial

**Legend of Spyro: Corrupted Souls**

**Denial**

"So, how do we approach this?"

"Approach? More like defend! He's coming here, not the other way around. Once he does make it back, we all know for sure he'll have questions. Everyone did."

"Then what do we answer? What information should we give without him figuring out the plan?"

"Volteer, stop your worrying, Spyro will discover everything if he is given the time. We just have to slow down the process with the right answers."

The four elders stood in silent agreement.

"Answer him with short and plain answers… that mean you Volteer."

"Alright, but tell me this. How do you think he will react to you! You replaced Ignitus's position before we knew what happened to him. Spyro will understand the reasoning behind it, but he will not accept it so willingly." Volteer stated.

"Well, life is life, and death is death. If he won't accept the fact that we have to move on for the good of our dragons then he is truly naive as they say."

"Sometimes ignorance can save your life. Cyril knows that very well."

"If only my past actions saved more than just myself, Terrador..."

"There are no words..." Spyro slowly mumbled to himself.

"To describe... how this could have happened."

'Slight change in Warfang' was a beyond extreme understatement. Theories started to pop into Spyro head how the city could have changed like this. But the only thing that he could think of was the chance that the when the planet was already falling apart, it turned the gravity chaotic somehow, and when he stopped the world from falling apart, the City of Warfang just...

Hung in the air.

The entire city was suspended in an unknown force, it hovered high above the rocky hills and plains below it. The shadow of the city cast over a crater equal size to Warfang. Small pieces of land orbited the floating rock, every other minute or so, Spyro could see small figures in the distance flying towards these smaller floating islands. As he traveled closer, maintaining distance from the transport, he noticed these ominous specks were dragons.

"How many came back?" He questioned to himself.

He and the group he followed were heading farther upwards toward the hovering city. He noticed Hunter's group far below him, they seemed to be climbing a spire that lead them straight to a small orbiting island with dragon transportation. Spyro noticed as the dragons flying ahead of him, carrying their dead brethren, were getting closer to the gates of Warfang, the gates don't open before them. Instead they flew over the walls and disappeared behind the Warfang's wall blockade.

Spyro remembered Hunter's warning, and flew over to a nearby sky land. It was a small piece of land, it had a grass tipping over the edges and a tall oak that was half in the island, and half off leaning towards the open sky.

After he stopped hearing the shouts and cries from the dead dragons revelation over the walls. Spyro heard footsteps behind him. He turned to see Hunter stepping off a middle aged green dragon. Spyro saw that the dragon had a leather like seat on his back, he knew it must have been a transport dragon.

"After you stopped the world from collapsing, Warfang was already torn apart from the land below it. When all of the stray pieces started to rejoin the planet, Warfang's size and position in the altitude forced a gravitational pull where it kept is suspended in the sky..." Hunter stated.

Spyro widen his eyes in surprise, he was dumbfounded at Hunter's explanation. Hunter noticed his astonishment.

"Volteer had repeated that theory numerous times to new dragons, I was always around to remember it. I knew that was most likely the first thing you would ask." Hunter said.

"I like it, it's fitting for a dragon city. I'm guessing your cheetahs don't visit the city often do they?"

Hunter rubbed his neck. "It's weird for us to deal with the high altitude to receive orders from the elders then immediately rush down to follow them. Scratch that, its not weird, it's painful." He replied.

Spyro chuckled. "How come the elders don't just come to you?" Spyro asked.

Hunter looked at Spyro with a discern face, remaining silent he turned to the Sky City before them. He sighed. "When I said things have changed I wasn't referring to Warfang appearance alone. Everything has turned around on us Spyro, you need to see it for yourself."

Spyro was starting to get slightly annoyed as to why Hunter refused to share this information with, but his judgement has usually been right. Hunter started to walk back to his transport dragon.

"The chaos has cleared, the city is already recovering from the loss. You should fly straight to the Temple, it isn't hard to miss." Hunter leaped atop of the green dragon. He gave an order and they both took off towards the ground base.

Spyro was suddenly scared of going in. He didn't know why he was suppose to hold back in the first place. He remembered that he needed answers before he was to do anything else.

Spyro swallowed his fear of confrontation and took to skies heading over the temple walls.

At first sight, Spyro recognized many of the smooth structures from before the attack. Everything look almost the same, there was a few new buildings from the Earth Golem's destruction. Spyro immediately saw more dragons than ever before in his life.

Many had not notice the purple dragon's arrival, so there wasn't any commotion as of yet. The purple dragon focused his attention to the dragon temple at the center of the city. He started to hear distant shouts below, assuming it was about him he ignored the talk. But he couldn't help to notice that some were slowly steering away from him.

He surprised himself by landing softly at the top of the steps to the Temple. Spyro could feel the curious gazes towards him, he quickly rushed inside, and as he reached the inside he saw that some dragons around him had starstruck looks.

He wasn't confident where to go inside the temple, he was going through his memories when he first arrived in the Dragon City trying to recall the directions to where the Elders was before the city took it's place in the sky, before he defeated Malefor at the center of the planet.

Before Cynder said those final words before leaving Spyro a loner.

The purple dragon walked in around the empty corridors without the smallest idea where to head to. He stumbled around not bothering to call out names, not wanting any he-saved-us-all-! mobs come storming. He wasn't entirely too sure if there would be one, now that he re-thought it. He considered how precarious Hunter wanted his first appearance as, then when he does reveal his existence the residents only kept low and out of sight.

The sound of paw steps and clattering claws was heard, Spyro turned to see three elder dragons walking towards him with grins.

"Spyro! We heard you had returned! Good to see you young one." A low voice cried out.

"My my Spyro, you gave us a big scare after the world re-joined her shattered pieces. We could begin to fathom what had become of you and Cynder." The yellow Elder exclaimed. Spyro slightly grimaced at her name.

"Indeed, please do tell us where you have traveling to?" The light blue colored Elder asked.

"It's good to finally see you guys too. After all that's happened I didn't expect any more surprises, but then I saw the outcome of the city." Spyro replied, trying to avoid Cyril's question.

"Ah yes, many things have changed since the war's end. In appearance and character." Cyril said.

Spyro nodded. "I'm sorry for not coming straight back, I think I would've been more help here than roaming around."

"Do not worry Spyro, the dragon colonies don't need the legendary purple dragon's help for everything you know." The sturdy green dragon said slyly.

"Well Terrador, ever since Malefor had fallen, I've been trying to make sense of all the new things in the world now. So I guess in mislead assurance, I didn't know if my help was needed or not." Spyro replied. He debated whether or not to bring down his inner conflict upon the three elders at this moment or not.

"Well now young dragon, you certainly seemed to have thought over things for a long while." Volteer pointed out. Spyro almost expected a different reply than that, especially from Volteer.

Spyro decided to change the subject; "I'm guessing you already knew about Ignitus, you didn't bother to ask about him."

All of the Elders were taken back from this sudden remark. They didn't have time to reply before Spyro proceeded further.

"I've also noticed, several search parties sent out were for dragon colonies, not me. So why would you even ask about my location?" Spyro's tone of voice had gone from gratefulness to the exact opposite.

"S-spyro I'm not sure what you mean?" The low proud voice suddenly faltering.

"Really? I'm not sure how to put this more plain, Terrador. Perhaps I should put this into a question."

The Elders waited intently as Spyro cleared his throat.

"Did you or did you not, pronounce me dead?"


	6. Reunion

**Legend of Spyro: Corrupted Souls**

**Reunion**

Silence helped Spyro confirm his suspicions. The three elder dragons before him held dumbfounded expressions. Even Volteer was speechless, which gave Spyro even more confidence. No one spoke for the next minute and to Spyro it felt like a hour. He took advantage of the stunned moment and collected his thoughts.

'That was close, I went out on a limb asking that but it seems I assumed correctly. But what does this mean though. If I caught them for an action they didn't think I knew about then they would have been quick to calm the situation. But now their acting as though I caught in a much bigger lie. What more is there to the story?' Spyro thought to himself.

He looked more closely at the Elders' expressions, trying to see if there appearance could give something away. Terrador looked calm and content but still silent, as though he was waiting for someone to speak instead of him. Volteer's eyes remained widen from the start, something about Spyro's shocked him enough to be at a loss for words.

As for Cyril... his expression almost frightened Spyro. He looked as though he was slightly pleased but confused. To Spyro, it seemed something had gone right for Cyril when it didn't for his other friends.

Coincidentally, the ice dragon was the first to break the ice, his tone was saddening.

"I'm afraid it's true Spyro. We hesitated to pronounced your death to the Dragon colonies after the planet's implosion ceased, seeing as the odds for your survival were very slim. But there came a large group of followers that begged us to give you more time before we proclaimed the news. A year passed since then and we had to announce it. We would have given you all the time in the world Spyro, do not doubt that, but the mystery of your survival had simply gotten too many dragons distracted, we had to clear the confusion. I hope you understand." Cyril pleaded.

Spyro stood motionless before the taller dragons. Which they had actually been smaller than Spyro remembered, he assumed it must be the year of growth when he was looking for Cynder.

Terrador and Volteer turned their already shock expressions towards Cyril. Spyro was slightly confused as to why the other two dragons directed their astonishment to Cyril. But suddenly exhaustion overcame him, his knees felt weak and his eyes ached to be closed. He had been moving for such a long rate that now he had stopped his body finally had the chance to beg for sleep.

"...Alright Cyril, I guess I have just been traveling too much, I haven't been able to sleep since... since..." Spyro's was fighting his weariness as hard as he could until he was at a more suitable area for comfort. Cyril ignored the reaction the two dragons beside gave him, and smiled at Spyro.

"Yes, you of all dragons deserve a break. We can catch you up when we are all rejuvenated. I'll send someone to be your guide until you feel more settled. For now just make your way to the courtyard, I'm sure you know where that is."

When Spyro and Cynder had killed the Earth Golem when Warfang was invaded, a short celebration was held in the Temple's courtyard. Spyro almost didn't want to go there, worried it might bring back memories of Cynder.

But at the moment, he couldn't even focus properly to make any thoughtful decisions. He slightly turned his head and observed the setting sun between two pillars in the temple. He sighed, then nodded at Cyril.

"Yeah... Yeah that's sound really good about now. Thanks." Spyro complied. The purple dragon then turned away from the three Guardians and made a slow pace to the courtyard's doorway at the end of the hall. His original thoughts on the answers he wanted were washed away by the need for energy. That was when it came to his realization that the last time he had actually sleep was at least four years ago at the Dragon Temple before he left for Twilight Falls. He could hardly believe how had changed since the day he left the Guardians. What seemed like a three year war to everyone else, was only a month of fighting, flying, and destroying to him.

He came to the conclusion that if he did fall into slumber soon, he would sleep for days on end.

When the purple dragon had gone out of sight and earshot, Terrador sighed in relief.

"Good diversion Cyril, after he regains his strength we can have him get reacquainted with New Warfang and by then, once he makes friends that should give us enough time to come up with something."

Cyril shook his head in denial, hating the situation he and his two fellow Guardians were in. "How about we tell him the truth? The longer we hold these secrets from him the worse it's going to-"

"You know we can't do that!" Terrador loudly interrupted. His face mixed in anger and fear. Cyril hated his words being cut-off, it made him feel like Volteer.

"I know how much this has to be weighing down on you Cyril, but this isn't about the Legend of the Purple Dragon anymore! New Warfang's structure is at stake, and I'm not referring to it's current suspension in air." Terrador stated bluntly.

Cyril continued his careless gaze at the Earth Guardian. His thoughts running off all the possible replies and returning actions he could pull off. In the end he decided patience was his best and logical choice.

"Fine Terrador!" He scoffed. "But when Spyro finds out- which he will!" Cyril increased the volume in his voice when he saw Terrador opening his jaw, making sure he would go uninterrupted. "I hope by the Ancestors you will not back down from the ungodly event that will come afterward."

With those words said, Cyril turned his back towards the other two Guardians and left in anger in the opposite direction of the courtyard. Terrador took a long breath of air and exhaled long enough for Volteer to finally come over his shock.

"I'm assuming this means Cyril doesn't like the Fire Guardian?"

There was silence...

"I really need some food."

Spyro had already rested his head on his paws, lying next to the small river that ran through the lush green courtyard, and heard the rare noise of his stomach moaning and growling at him.

"I really don't know how I have gone this long, crumbling Gaul's army, sleeping in a crystal for three years, waking up to fight more dark creatures, conquering Malefor's assault on Warfang, then beating him in a raging volcano, and finally flying back here without even a slab of meat..."

He let out a tired sigh, which his stomach gave him another growl in reply.

"I'm going to go out on limb here and assume being a purple dragon means I have a much longer amount of energy. But with a more painful cost."

He winced as his insides started to ache from the lack of food. The more Spyro remembered how he had never had a break since he left the Dragon Temple at Twilight Forest, the more his body started to remind him in an more physical way.

"All I want is some meat, a little bit of water, and a nice soft patch of dirt so I can sleep until the next Ice Age."

"Spyro?"

At the sound of his name, Spyro turned his head around to who called him, only to get tackled as soon he did so.

"Thank you thank you thank you Thank You! You saved his life!"

Spyro could only colors of yellow and white as he tried to remove himself from the dragon's grip. He was too tired to even use his elements so he tried speaking instead.

"Ummm... I would say you're welcome, but I can't really see who are when you're smothering me like this." Spyro exclaimed.

"Oh, I'm so sorry!"

Spyro recognized the voice, it was female and he has only met three dragonesses in his entire life. The purple dragon felt the weight come off his chest and he lifted himself off the ground to get a better look at his 'attacker'.

"Skyla? You're my guide?"

The white dragoness nodded vigorously with a smile. Suddenly her facial expression turned to concern.

"D-Do you want a different guide? I'll go tell the Guardians if you want?" She asked.

"No! No, that's not what I meant it's just... I didn't really know who they would send. I assumed you and your brother would be at the vigil." Spyro replied.

Spyro had never attended to a vigil, Ignitus had only told him about it in a discussion about dragon customs. He never saw a dragon die until it was Ignitus that gave his life to escort him through the Belt of Fire; he immediately repressed the thought as soon it came.

"Oh, yeah, I never knew those dragons really. Lucran was the one that tried to get to know them... anyways; the Guardians said you needed a guide around the Temple? Where do you to go first?"

Spyro smiled, he liked how Skyla didn't keep her thoughts on things too depressing. He assumed it was because she was most likely to young to completely understand what has happened recently, or it was because she had learned to overcome it. He wished he had that skill.

"Well... I'm hungry? Where do I go to get food is a start." Spyro answered.

Skyla smiled again, honored to be the one helping the purple dragon. She outstretched her wings and beckoned Spyro to follow. Then the two of them took off into the skies, and flew towards the streets of New Warfang.

* * *

"Well? I assume it went as planned."

"Only for the first part, but Spyro knew that he foresaw him dead."

"Well that was only a matter of time Terrador. I want to know how you reacted."

"All three of us didn't expect him to find out so soon, we didn't know what to say at first. Then Cyril played the 'R&R' card and that saved us from more questions. He should be with his guide right now."

"Hmm, that was good move but Spyro will come around again. Next time you see him, give him the supplies we discussed earlier and send him off to the old Dragon Temple."

The two Guardians silent agreed to the third dragon's plans. Terrador began to mentally plan out how he would approach Spyro if he was given the chance. Volteer however, only needed to know one more thing.

"I'm sorry to ask this, but why is it that Cyril continues to be ignorant to your strict rules? Why does he persist to proclaim to Spyro the truth of all these events? Does he not know the chaotic aftermath he would cause?" Volteer finished his list of questions with a look of concerned.

The Fire Guardian sighed. "Cyril sees this matter in a different light Volteer, I have known him for as long as I can remember to trust me when I say, 'If my brother decides to ruin the plan of our Ancestors, then I will know just how to handle him'."

Both Terrador and Volteer stepped back in fear as the Fire Guardian started to laugh. His laughter turned from a chuckle to complete hysteria. The Electric and Earth Guardian exchanged fearful glances, then ducked as the Fire Guardian lighted up the room with his breath of constant flame.

Dark blue flame...


	7. Revelation

**Legend of Spyro: Corrupted Souls**

**Revelation**

"Wow... we only had vague stories and small rumors. We never had the full story."

It was dawn of Spyro's first day in New Warfang, and the sight of the reconstructed city overwhelmed him. He had never actually seen the original appearance of the city since at the time it under siege. The aerial view looked the same besides the fact the city was suspended in the air. All the buildings look the same as before, some rebuilt since the attack, and some built in a new architecture.

After Skyla had escorted Spyro to his platform, she made a quick run into the city and retrieved a large amount of meat for Spyro to have alone. She understood that he preferred to keep his actual first appearance on hold until he knew more about the current events.

Spyro's platform was located above one of the corners of the temple. It was an open circular lift, with bright purple banners posted hung from the upper ring. The colored cloth surrounded the platform and blocked out the view from both inside and out besides and specific opening that allowed a scenic view of the rising sun. On the platform was a large cushioned area in the center; on the sides were stone statues of Spyro himself. There was different poses for each pedestal, one showed Spyro in mid-flight with his wings above his head, his head looking down, and front paws to his chest. Others consisted of him in different flight positions, but the one he favored the most was a stone form of himself fighting a grublin. His jaw clenched on one of its arms as he swung to one side.

His eyes went from his feast to the view of the rising sun that was just above a tall Warfang structure in the distance. The glare of the sun cast two long shadows, one to the purple dragon, and the other to his guide.

He looked to Skyla and, with the incoming sunlight; he noticed a five-pointed purple star pendant on her neck. He couldn't believe he had missed it before, the purple color stood out on her yellow scaled underbelly. The purple dragon looked away after a few seconds of thought, not wanting to bring more curiosity into his mind.

"Do you think in the upcoming cycles I'll just be another legend to tell to the hatchlings?" Spyro questioned with a smile. Skyla chuckled.

"I'm sure that as a purple dragon, your story isn't going to become a night time tale any time soon." She replied.

Spyro took another bite out of the pile of meat before him. Even as though morning had just begun, he was still recovering from his overwhelming use of energy he had exerted in the past years. He was long overdue for rest, and yet his mind begged him to get information. No matter how tired he was, he would never rest with such uncertainty in his head.

"Where did all these dragons come from? Was there colonies that went underground when Malefor rose?" He asked calmly.

Skyla let out a long sigh, as though she had expected this moment in their conversation to come soon. She moved her front legs forward and lay down next to Spyro, getting into a more comfortable position before she started the 'history' lesson.

"Well, it all started on the Eve of the Eternal Night."

"Cyril still hasn't complied, Fire Guardian."

"I'm not surprised, Terrador, he still needs time to contemplate the current events before he can come to a mindful decision. Cyril is always the one to think ahead."

"But he continues to prolong the judgment, and then it will put a stalemate in our plan!"

"Please Volteer, this prophecy has been foretold in such a way that we can make do without him if he chooses to partake or not."

"..."

"Where are they currently Terrador?"

"They were both at Spyro's Rift, last time I checked."

"By now they must be discussing past events. What about our small yellow friend?"

"He's... he got out of our watch last night, when news of Spyro reached everyone's attention."

"Worry not, my earth controlling friend, Sparx will be very helpful when we want Spyro to be aware of things we ourselves cannot tell him directly."

"You're going to turn his brother into a messenger for deceit?"

"Why yes Volteer, that's exactly what I'm going to do. If I'm not mistaken however, I think we have already done it."

Total silence filled the room, and then the Fire Guardian walked away from the two stunned dragons. He reached the doorway then turned back; his eyes glinted from the light that emitted in the hallway.

"Remember, Volteer and Terrador; this is his legend, if we are to interfere, he may as well become just like Malefor."

And with those final words, the Fire Guardian left the two other Elders with uneasy silence.

* * *

Elsewhere, on the ground far from New Warfang along the border of a neighboring forest, stood a small wooden platform. Four torches, one on each corner, illuminated the surrounding area as well as the outpost itself. Standing on the edge of the wood-made stand, was a dark red cloaked cheetah. One leg crossed over the over, his head scanning the native area, his gaze was mainly upon the rising sun in the distance. His thoughts turning to when will the next patrol will come and relieve him and his apprentice of their post.

At the thought, the red clothed cheetah turned towards the other warrior at the opposite corner. His apprentice was sitting on a low stool, leaning to one side with his light blue hood covering his head, presumably sleeping on the job.

"Kah'tall... Hey, Kah'tall!" The red cheetah called. He walked over to his apprentice and gave him a rough push on the shoulder. Immediately the apprentice's head shot upwards, his hood fell to his neck and his ears perked up, his senses on full alert from the abrupt awakening.

"If only you responded this quick in training." The older cheetah said, amused by his apprentice's reaction. "Get awake, we're coming close to morning."

The gray furred cheetah groaned, his want for more sleep overwhelming all of his other senses. With another moan, Kah'tall stretched his arms out then removed himself from his stool.

"Alright, I'm up, I'm up!" He repeated.

"Put out the torches, we don't need to waste them." The older cheetah ordered.

Slowly, Kah'tall went to one torch and blew out the flame. As he was regaining proper use of his awareness, he remembered the conversation he and his teacher were having the night before.

"Hey, Hunter, you never told me about that dragon you greeted last night on one of the Floating Isles. Who was that?" Kah'tall asked.

"That, my apprentice, was a very good friend of mine. Your business is best kept on your training and not dragons." Hunter replied.

"Dragons are the reason I'm training in the first place." The apprentice retorted, extinguishing another flame with the flick of paw. Hunter sighed, knowing exactly what his student was referring to. Not desiring another uncomfortable moment of recollection, he stops the conversation with one simple answer.

"I know Kah'tall, I was there... we all were."

"Well, it all started on the Eve of the Eternal Night. There was thirteen dragon colonies spread out across the region. At the time, almost every wise dragon could already tell that the Lunar Eclipse was upon us. Some of the colonies went into hiding, afraid that there wouldn't be another purple dragon to save them. Other colonies remained in their homes, preparing for the worst and ready to fight off whatever Malefor threw at them."

"Then, at the moment the Celestial Moons aligned, all law and order was lost. Malefor didn't even have to launch any attacks on the first night due to the chaos. Every living being knew that once Malefor had risen, wars would break out and everyone would be on their own. Most took this to heart, and rebellious groups began to form. However, once the Dark Master took his place in the sky on the Floating Islands, not many dragon groups lasted long, except the city of Warfang."

"I was a part of one of the colonies that went underground, so I don't have many solid facts about what happen during the war. But from everything I heard, it was horrific, bloody, chaotic, and merciless. Malefor's army overwhelmed all of the outer colonies that were away from Warfang. The city managed to hold its own for three years until it was on its last possible fight... then you came back."

"I'm not going to cover that part, since I would assume anything that did take place you would have been involved in it. But when you and Cynder had defeated Malefor-"

Spyro winced. Just the mentioning of her name filled him with regret, guilt, and sorrow. He already promised himself that he was to leave Warfang by the time he had regained his rest and retrieved answers. As soon as he left he would continue where he started and hopefully find Cynder before Snow Fall.

"- and disappeared again, the Guardians assumed the worst when you didn't return after one whole year. And since Ignitus was with you two last, Ignitus was presumed dead as well, so a new Guardian was appointed."

This was the news he was wanting, the info that proved something had drastically changed in New Warfang besides its new overwhelming height.

"What?" Spyro cried out. "A new Fire Guardian?"

Spyro was outraged; he could hardly believe the three Guardians had given up on Ignitus so quickly. The purple dragon dropped his half-eaten slab of meat. Skyla looked at Spyro with a look of shock. She didn't know how to react to Spyro's sudden rage.

Spyro got to his feet, his legs shook with anger and his claws scraped the carved stone beneath him. He was too tired to have a conversation let alone deal with this emotional distress.

"Y-yes, he was a survivor from one of the outer colonies. When he came to Warfang, the Guardians almost immediately asked him to take the position. But it was no surprise really. Everyone knows the real reason why he was selected besides his unique flame color." Skyla stated, trying to turn Spyro' rage in another direction.

"What do you mean? What could possibly make him so great as to replace Ignitus?"

"Spyro... His name is Dragorick. He's Cyril's brother."


	8. Preparation

**Legend of Spyro: Corrupted Soul**

**Preparation**

Spyro had not gained real sleep for four years. His energy was overly drained. In that instant, he gave up wanting to learn more about what had changed, and simply lay down, curled up, and slept. Skyla watched as he fell asleep, not even offended that he had halted the conversation mid-way. She could tell that all of this must coming and going too fast for the purple dragon. Skyla walked to the other side of the cushions, and mimicked Spyro's action and went into slumber as well.

It was the first time in four years that Spyro slept soundly that night. Moreover, it was the first time in years he had anything close to a break. But in even in his dreams he was still contemplating. Debating on how to move forward. Which spawned a painful question in his mind.

Cynder or New Warfang?

Does he give up looking for that dragoness? Postpone the search that kept him away from the real world for almost a year? Will finding Cynder be worth it? Will she accept him again, and give the chance to start over.. Will she even be alive when he finds her?

Or, will Spyro abandon New Warfang? There was so many lies and mistrust now that the Guardians have claimed the purple dragon dead. He felt the need to stay and right the wrong before he flew off again to after Cynder. New Warfang might not be in a such a peaceful time some claimed it to be.

Then Spyro realized that history has repeated itself. The moment he stuck was almost identical to when the old Dragon Temple was attacked before the Eternal Night. He left to go find Cynder and discover his place as a Purple Dragon. When he did, the temple was later destroyed and many dragons had to take refuge in Warfang. In the end, it all resulted to sealing Cynder's, Sparx's, and his life into a crystal. A crystal that kept them asleep throughout Malefor's reign of terror. It all happened because he went after Cynder.

Now it all whether or not he would let history repeat itself again. Go after the dragon he loved, or stay and protect New Warfang for the time being. Then a dark part of soul interrupted his motion of thinking, giving a horrifying but true pint of reasoning.

"She abandoned you! She can wait until you finish what needs to be done."

As much as Spyro hated the dark side of his powers, he had to agree with reasoning. Cynder had made her choice, as much as Spyro wanted to change that and find her again, she would ultimately have to wait for discovery a bit longer. Because Spyro made his choice then and there...

He was going to stay in New Warfang... and kill the Guardians.

* * *

Two days, Spyro slept for two days straight in his Rift. The moles that were sent to check on the purple dragon per hour were slightly discomforted by the long slumber. But they were reassured by the Guardians that it was normal for a dragon to go through a lot, especially Spyro, and spend days on end to regain their energy.

Skyla had made more checks on the sleeping dragon more often than the others. She, too, was slightly distressed but for different reasons. Her last words before Spyro had fallen into his long rest were concerning the Guardians. Skyla had noticed herself how their behaviors seemed a little... unorthodox at times. But before the events with Spyro's return, she only assumed it was normal since she was new to Warfang, but if the Legendary Purple Dragon was also in a state of anger with the Guardians (Which she could sense from seeing Spyro's body movements) then something had to have been wrong.

The morning came when Spyro had awoken. Skyla was on her way there from her morning meal. Today she felt slightly concerned over herself at how much she was worrying over Spyro. But she pushed away the thought, think to herself how much the dragon has done so much everyone already, he deserved at least some helpful attention.

When she had reached the Rift above the temple her first observation was the ripped curtains that were once hanging from the banner that circled above the Rift. Feeling slightly worried, she flew higher and landed on the edge of the platform. The memorial statues were shattered into many pieces, the cushions from the inner circle were ravaged and scattered everywhere, and there was scorched marks placed in various places. But what had sacred Skyla the most about the scene, was the small amount of peculiar crimson liquid that pooled in the center of where she had seen Spyro sleep just last night.

She was on the verge of screaming when Spyro's figure appeared at the corner of her eye. She turned to the right to see Spyro calmly sitting on the edge of the Rift, gazing upon the sunrise.

"Spyro?" She said slowly. Spyro turned to face her, his body was unscathed.

"What in the name of-" Her words were cut when Spyro suddenly laughed; which was the last thing she expected.

"Sorry for the mess, Skyla. I had an interesting dream last night; your reaction is the same as mine when I saw this." Spyro said. The purple dragon walked away from his watching position and towards one of the broken statues.

"Also, Sorry for, uh, completely dropping out of your conversation last night..." He stomped the ground and immediately the remains of the stone retreated to the pedestal and one by one formed the original formation of the statue again. "I hadn't really had much of any rest for a long time now."

"Um, Spyro? I hate to be the first to tell you this, but you have been asleep for two days now." Skyla stated. Not minding what Spyro had done that night when he had passed out; whatever was going on through Spyro's head that night, was a conversation

Spyro flinched. The news was shocking for him, his dream only felt like a few hours. How much more had he missed after the two days of his energy recovery?

He then disregarded the thought; the morning was still young and, with his strength returned, he felt more prepared for finally confronted the Guardians. All four of them, all at once, and he wasn't going the put this off any longer, it was a talk that was long overdue.

"Well, that's a little bit discerning... but I feel a lot better than before coming to Warfang." Spyro replied. His face revealed nothing about his concern for how long he had been alienating Warfang.

It was then that the dragoness heard a distant noise over the Rift, Skyla then remembered a happier thought than the current depressing feeling in the air.

"While you had been sleeping for so long, I and couple of others have been checking on you." Skyla nodded towards the sky, already hearing the familiar buzzing sound in the distance. Spyro heard it as well; he went from slightly morbid to extremely happy.

"One of them was certain dragonfly of yours."

"Sparx!"

* * *

Cyril was furious; he felt betrayed, forgotten, and ridden of. His hatred pointed mostly towards the newly appointed Fire Guardian. The rest of his malice was directed at Terrador and Volteer.

"How could they be so clueless?" Cyril muttered silently. His voice slightly echoing through the hallways those lead to the Sanctuary.

His thoughts were clouded by the struggle to comprehend why his brother was... alive?

But those memories were not ones he wanted to resurface; he needed to focus on the serious problem at hand. Volteer and Terrador are now slowly fading away from the laws and oaths they had promised themselves to long ago. The Circle of Guardians was now becoming a Brotherhood of Deceit; Cyril had conjured the name himself for how fitting it was. He knew what the main cause of this downfall was because of his brother; he also knew how hard it would be to fix it. But there was one dragon that he needed to either get of, or...

Kill him.

Both options difficult, but only one would be the hardest to do.

"I have not betrayed you Ignitus; I know what I have promised. But how am I to help Spyro in teaching him morals if I'm on the verge of killing my own brother?" He whispered silently to himself.

Suddenly the hallway was filled with another sound besides his own footsteps. Cyril looked over his shoulder to see small messenger mole with light green clothing come scampering from a hallway into the main corridor. When his eyes saw the Ice Guardian, he halted and stood at attention.

"Sir, the Guardians are called to the courtyard upon Spyro's request. He wants to speak to you all simultaneously." The mole stated in a firm voice. Cyril's face remained dull and unhappy, but inside he was glad to hear that Spyro was awake and immediately ready to tackle the Guardians' speech. Of course, knowing how much Spyro was furious after their last reunion, it would be the purple dragon doing the talking and not the Guardians. So instead of grimacing at the fact of being interrogated, he smiled in satisfaction that Spyro was calling the shots.

"I shall be there in due time." Cyril replied. The messenger mole nodded and broke into a run towards the way he came.

When the mole was out of earshot, Cyril once again began talking to himself. The Guardian continued his not towards the courtyard, but instead was heading for his study. There was an object of interest he want Spyro to have, and he was sure he would need it for the travels ahead.

* * *

"All Guardians have appreciated your message sir! They shall be here shortly."

Spyro was fully awake now. The mole he had sent out to relay his message was very... soldier harden for a messenger. Spyro simply nodded and the mole ran towards... somewhere. That was partially the reason he wanted the Guardians to gather at the courtyard, it was the only place he knew where it's exact location was. The new Dragon Temple was a mystery to him, he didn't exactly get a grand tour when the Earth Golem was terrorizing Warfang a year ago. But now was the time he would get full straight answers.

He was sitting in the middle of the courtyard, a fountain that had a stone statue of dragon spouting water from his mouth was behind him, two areas of grass on either side of the fountain separated by a cobblestone pathway, and a large statue dragon that resembled a dragon that Spyro thought looked familiar. But it was hard to distinguish the details with his mind trying to bring up all of the questions he was going to ask.

He felt reassured to know that Skyla was right beside him. They had a small talk about each other's past after an exciting reunion with Sparx. She, like every other dragon in New Warfang, knew about Spyro's legendary adventures, not much he could say during that conversation. However, Spyro had now learned that Skyla was in fact from one of the dragon colonies that transpired right after Malefor had fallen. Her colonies of origin, according to rumor, were descendants of past Guardians of the Dragon Realms. In other words, she could be a Guardian herself if she made the choice to train for it.

Then there was Sparx, whom was hovering right beside his horns. Spyro felt much more at ease with his dragonfly brother around now. Of course, the first thing Sparx said when he greeted Spyro at the Rift was "I only let you go to kill Malefor, not go on a one-year vacation bro!"

Spyro had to smile at that, he enjoyed the small talk they had about how they both had been surviving without each other, spoken in the most sarcastic tone they could. But it was when the topic changed to his long awaited arrival and Cynder that the conversation went morbid. Spyro could tell what had happened during the events after the planet returned to normal. He couldn't answer any questions Sparx had otherwise.

Answers were what Spyro was after.

As if on cue, two large shadows started to the approach the courtyard, one stockier than the other. Spyro knew exactly who was coming down the corridor, and now that his mind was clear, he was ready to confront the Guardians better than last time.

"Spyro! It's very good to see you're awake. We have been very concerned over your exaggerated slumber. I'm actually quite content to be called upon by you." Volteer exclaimed as he walked into the light, into the temple garden. Beside him was Terrador, who simply nodded his head to Spyro in agreement. Spyro gave the polite gesture back and then the two Guardians sat in front of the purple dragon, awaiting the others.

"I assume this all has to do with the abrupt ending to our last discussion, doesn't it?" Volteer question, giving Spyro an apprehensive look.

"I will tell you when we all have congregated." Spyro stated firmly. At first, Spyro could tell that Volteer had flinched from his words, but then nodded once more in understanding.

"Then I gather that you know about Dragorick?" Terrador asked. Spyro turned his gaze the large earth Dragon with a solemn face.

"Yes, but not much, which is partially why I have gathered you here in the first place. I want answers before I decide to help." Spyro replied. But Terrador shook his head.

"Then you only needed to send for Cyril and Dragorick, not we included." Terrador countered. Spyro narrowed his eyes; he was trying to gain control, not defiance.

"You are all Guardians right? Than you should all be involved whether is matters to you or not." Said Spyro. To this reply, both Volteer and Terrador ceased talking, respecting Spyro's request for everyone to be here. That was when Spyro realized he was in control.

He felt Skyla's tail swishing side to side in the grass behind him. It was lightly tapping his tail every so often. Spyro turned to her and saw she was gesturing to the far left corridor leading into the temple. When he directed his attention towards said area, he saw the shadow of a dragon on the wall, it was slowly approaching them.

"Dragorick." Was all that Skyla could say before the new Fire Guardian rounded to corner, revealing himself to Spyro.

When Spyro saw Dragorick completely, his first thought was that there was no doubt this was Cyril's brother. His entire figure appeared more dominating compared to the other dragons in the courtyard. His scale color was dark blue, his underbelly was coal black, so was the color of his wing membrane. His eyes were ruby red, along with his horns, which were in the same form as Cyril's. Now that Spyro thought about it, everything about Dragorick was just a more large, different color, and more demonic form of Cyril. Spyro's first impression, without his previous opinions from earlier this morning, was that this dragon just shouted evil at him.

Yet when that dragon saw Spyro... he smiled.

"Spyro the Dragon... I have long waited to meet your acquaintance. I never expected to be sent for by the purple dragon himself." Dragorick said. His voice was oddly calming. Spyro half-expected it to resemble that of Malefor's, but instead it was low toned, and composed. Spyro was still trying to take in Dragorick's appearance that he nearly lost his words he had prepared to say.

"So... your Cyril's brother I've heard so little about." Spyro replied.

Dragorick's smile remained; instead he cocked his head slightly to side hesitantly. Then chuckled.

"Is that so? Well, I'm sorry for the mysterious demeanor. But I have had some huge responsibilities to tend to as you very well know. After all, I volunteer for the service of being the Fire Guardian so-"

"Pardon the interruption, but you look nothing like a dragon with the breath of flame." Spyro interrupted fiercely. He had no patience for any other than the information he wanted. Dragorick didn't seem to be bothered by the interruption, it was Volteer and Terrador who tensed up; Skyla and Sparx seemed to be nervous around Dragorick.

"Well, you yourself Spyro shouldn't judge others by their appearance." He replied, taking his place next to Volteer and Cyril.

"Now, I do know that you have a thirst for knowledge. I am also aware of your determination for it, I can see it in your eyes. So let's get straight to business shall we?"

Spyro was stunned; Dragorick dropped it all on top of him right then and there. He wondered if Dragorick wanted to avoid wasting time and... what? What was it that Dragorick would be responsible, besides taking Ignitus' place as Guardian?

"Alright, if your Cyril's brother, then where have you been for the time he has been Guardian? Why did you turn up now?" Spyro shot out that first question because he had been holding it in for a while. It was one of the mysterious he couldn't stand among the others. Dragorick wasn't smiling like he was before, instead he really look as though he were in an important meeting with other respected dragons.

"When Cyril became appointed as Ice Guardian, I took my place as a protector over another colony in the mountains. We both knew we had separate lives to live so it was only fitting that we both contribute to helping our own kind." Dragorick said.

"Which colony?"

"Forrow, Colony of the Mountains, it is a very nice group filled with carefree dragons that enjoyed flying mindlessly in the skies. It was colony were my job was hardly requested I must confess." Dragorick answered.

"What happened when Malefor was resurrected?"

When he asked, Spyro could just barely make out a reflection of resentment coming from Dragorick's eyes; who it was directed towards, he wasn't too sure. But in the same instant he remained his composure.

"We fled to the safe chambers of the mountain and hoped that the storm of the war would pass." Dragorick replied, his tone changed to dread in that moment. Spyro took notice.

"What happened when your colony was brought to Warfang?" He asked, almost not wanting the answer he expected to get.

"... Malefor knew about our location, and destroyed the mountain while we were still inside. My colony is dead if that was what you really wanted to know Spyro."

Spyro lost his concentration then and there. He could see Skyla lower head in sorrow next to him, she had already known was his guess, Sparx as well. His questions had come to a halt. This wasn't going as well as he wanted. Dragorick saw his hesitation.

"I know you want answers Spyro," He continued. "But New Warfang is still in need of help. We will need more assistance for-"

"Where are the other colonies?"

Everyone turned to Spyro in shock; he had once again cut Dragorick's words short. Spyro ignored it though, he knew he had lost his streak of questions, but now he had other plans.

"Send to me to the other colonies, I know you have sending patrols out to find them. But think about it, if they are dragons that are still hiding from Malefor, then they will still conceal themselves from you. I, however, can go out alone and they will notice who I am. They will reveal themselves for me." Spyro proceeded.

The three Guardians exchanged glances, mostly towards Dragorick. Volteer and Terrador looked at him as though he were the one to make the decision. Dragorick, never broke his gaze at Spyro. He was contemplating the request in silence. Spyro looked at Dragorick with hope.

"I can bring the rest of them back, and then we can discuss what else needs to be done." Spyro finished.

Dragorick's red eyes narrowed, Spyro's emerald eyes remained a look of content. Finally Dragorick spoke.

"... This is insane young dragon, you cannot go out there looking for dragons that may or may not be alive. We need you here."

"To do what exactly?"

This time it was Spyro's turn to be surprised, he had almost forgotten about the other Guardian. He looked to the entrance to see Cyril walk through. Spyro had seen the others Guardians' expressions, they looked calm and content when they arrived; Cyril, however, looked distressed and tired. The Ice Guardian faced Dragorick when he sat in his spot with the others.

"We have more than enough help here as it is, and since the cheetah tribe won't proceed with their search anymore, why not accept the offer?" Cyril continued Then Spyro saw something he didn't expect. Cyril was giving Dragorick a cold stare; there was hate in Cyril's eyes even though he was talking in a calm tone. Dragorick appeared unaffected by the look, instead the he sighed.

"Then what do you propose we do in his absence? Ignore our current problem with Krad?"

'Krad?' Spyro thought. 'How many other dragons do I have to meet?'

"We have been keeping the situation under control for the past year, we can control a little more. Let Spyro go search for the remaining three colonies, than we can move down the list." Cyril convinced.

Dragorick looked annoyed, he returned the glare he received from Cyril until he finally turned away from him and looked back at Spyro.

"Fine, go off on your expedition, Cyril can give you your necessary information. As for Skyla..."

Until now, Spyro hadn't checked on either Sparx or Skyla to see their reactions to the whole meeting. Skyla flinched when her name was mentioned, Dragorick didn't look at her.

"She can go with, since her brother is still recovering from the last search party, she could use something to keep her mind off things."

With that said, Dragorick turned and left the courtyard in a gesture of annoyance. Volteer and Terrador nodded lightly towards Spyro, and then followed Dragorick in suit. Cyril remained stationary until the other three Guardians left the garden, and then he directed his attention back to Spyro.

"Sorry, about my brother... His decision making skills are not yet qualified for a Guardian." Cyril apologized.

"Then why is he the Fire Guardian regardless?" Spyro questioned.

"His natural talent with fire was enough to teach the upcoming line of fire dragons. It was a choice I did not approve I can assure that much." He answered.

"Well, nothing can be done about it now obviously. So, where are we heading? I don't want to waste any time."

Cyril smiled at Spyro's attitude. He turned his head around shuffled a bit. His tail then swung around in between Spyro, Skyla, Sparx and Cyril. There was an object attached the Ice Guardian's tail. The object looked like a gold-colored bundle of cloth, with a single strap that went diagonally under the bundle. Spyro and Sparx exchanged confused looks, but Skyla recognized it immediately.

"It's a satchel. I've seen the cheetahs use things like this to carry things around during their hunts. But this one looks different from the rest." Skyla explained. Cyril nodded in agreement.

"Yes, this was design to be used how the cheetahs make use of it, but was altered to be worn by a dragon. The cloth is exceptionally fire-proof, and it's a shoulder pack so it will be easy to use. I made this because I knew you would need, Spyro." Cyril continued.

Spyro stared at the pack; he wondered whether or not he will make much use of this. Skyla picked up the shoulder pack and placed it on his back. She took hold of the straps and began fitting the satchel on Spyro.

"This will be dangerous Spyro. As you might have heard, the cheetahs have given up on looking for the remaining three colonies. Your help is most needed." He paused, taking an exaggerated breath. "Your first destination will be the Rourgnarok Colony in the Catacombs. They were seen by a group when Hunter had escorted you and Cynder out the same catacombs. This colony was the one that had found you actually. We tried to find them afterwards, but we could not find a clear entrance."

Skyla gave one final tug, and then she took a step back to observe her work. Spyro swung his head around, and right in front of his nose was the opening to the shoulder pack. he could hardly feel the pack on his back, or the strap that went around his underbelly. He was started to like Cyril more than the others.

"I don't know how to help you other than that. I hope that will be enough." Cyril said.

"Don't worry Cyril. We'll the Rourg Colony and bring them back before the end of the season." Spyro reassured.

"When will you be leaving?" Cyril asked, knowing the season of frost was coming to an end soon.

"Now actually," Spyro said, "If that's alright with you?" Spyro asked Skyla. Spyro's newest companion nodded her head vigorously.

"You don't have to ask me twice. I've been waiting for another adventure ever since you came to Warfang." She said excitedly. Sparx flew in the middle of the three dragons, hands in the air.

"Alright! Once again Sparx is on a world saving adventure!"

"Are you sure you won't be needing a little more recovery, Spyro?" Cyril questioned, not bothering to acknowledge the joyful dragonfly. Spyro made a quick glance to both Sparx and Skyla.

"I had a yearlong travel, and three day rests, I think I have had more than enough time recover Cyril." Spyro said proudly.

After more discussion, and thanks for the shoulder pack, Spyro made his ascent to the top of the city's gate. Skyla and Sparx both on either side, with Cyril was trailing behind. When they reached the large golden doors, Spyro landed hovered above the walls, looking out to the mountain in the south, which was their destination.

"Follow the valley headings towards the Mountain of Malefor. When you reach Twilight Falls, i assume you know where to head from there." Cyril instructed. Spyro knew exactly where to go from there: Up the waterfall into the mouth of the cavern, follow the water until he reach the stone hallway of the Catacombs. It was all easy to remember and hopefully it would be the same to follow as well.

"Understood. We got it from here Cyril thanks for your help." Spyro confirmed, before heading off over the walls.

"Spyro!" Cyril called. "Wait... can you spare a minute?"

Spyro halted abruptly, and flew back towards the Ice Guardian. He gestured to Skyla and Sparx to wait ahead. When he reached Cyril, both of his companions were out of earshot.

"Spyro... When you had returned from your travels, and in recoil, proved the Guardians how they were liars to the rest of the city,"

'He's talking about the Guardians as though he isn't one.' Spyro thought to himself. As much as he agreed with Cyril, there something about his tone that almost sounded... displeased.

"Some things had changed; New Warfang is a giant step away from how its original form once was. And I'm not just talking about its increase in altitude." Cyril stated. His voice was in a rush; his tone was becoming more fearful.

"I can't explain all of this now. But please, heed my warning: Everything is altering, soon we will not live in the world we have grown so used to anymore. But if you plan on surviving, Spyro, know your friends, know your enemies, and most importantly..."

All of this was coming so fast, Spyro only just barely comprehended the words that were being thrown at him. But nothing prepared him for Cyrils last part of his warning.

"Do not trust these Guardians." Then Cyril flew away.

Shock... pure absolute shock. This was the last thing he expected anyone to say, and to his greater fear... More and more questions formed in his head. But he had a quest to accomplish, dragons could be in trapped under the earth beneath him and his focus was clouded by the thoughts of being paranoid with the warning he was just given. He was in a position that could ultimately cause him to lose control of everything.

"Ummm... Cyril's gone now, can we make like a tree and-"

"Sparx! Be quiet! Obviously he's in thought. Give him a minute." Skyla said.

"Give him a minute! I gave him a year and three days just to come back to his loyal and awesome bro of his. Don't tell me to give him more time." Sparx cried out. To this, Skyla replied with a small giggle.

Spyro smiled, his mind instantly cleared upon remembering his friends that were waiting (somewhat) patiently behind him. He snapped his wings the side and glided between Skyla and Sparx and over the grand golden plated doors.

"Well, for better or for worse, it's to go back down Memory Lane. Ready Sparx?"

"I'm always ready bro, kind of have to be when I'm following you around." Sparx said, speeding up and then hovering around Spyro's horns.

"Skyla?"

"Lead the way Spyro!" She replied proudly, following Spyro in the same speed next to him.

Spyro nodded and looked straight ahead to his new destination, knowing he was only temporarily leaving behind New Warfang and all of its problems he had to confront later on.

"Alright team, next stop: The Catacombs"


	9. Expedition

**Legend of Spyro: Corrupted Souls**

**Expedition**

Traveling alone through the skies now seemed like a distant memory. Most likely because Sparx was now back in the group again, if there was really a group to begin with. If it was just Sparx and Spyro, he himself would have thought it was back to how it used to be. Just him and his brother trying to understand the world around by saving it as well. But with Skyla in the picture, it was becoming a more enjoyable feat. Especially since the dragoness seemed to never end with the stories she had about her clan, Shersa, Clan of the Valleys.

"... And in the end we all had to have this routine of whistling outside the cavern so the Grublins would never bother the farms again." Skyla said, finishing another one her stories about her clan.

"Wow, if only we had known about that trick with whistling, I bet that would have been a serious time saver for us during that stupid war." Sparx commented. Spyro wanted to remind Sparx that the war was anything but stupid, but decided against it. It would not have been worth it.

"Well, ancestors forbid we ever encounter a time, when you do see a Grublin remember only a certain pitch can distress them."

"Well, I will have you know I am an expert whistler. There isn't a pitch I can't achieve!"

"Or really?" She mused.

"Yes, really! No one can do 'Swing Low' like I can. Spyro, you can vouch for me right?"

The answer was silence. Both Skyla and Sparx glanced at each other, then at the purple dragon leading them. Spyro muttered a word since they departed from New Warfang. His silence was bothering Sparx to a great extent, he anticipated that his dragon brother would have asking him question after question by now. Instead of being in the middle a conversation about what has happened over the past year of his absence like Sparx expected, it was just silence.

Unnerving silence.

"Spyro? Yo, you've been spacing out this entire trip, what's up?" Sparx asked, still no response.

"Maybe he's just planning on what we will do when we find the colony?" Skyla implored. "Perhaps we shouldn't distract him." This confused Sparx greatly.

"Planning?" He asked. "You don't know my brother, Sky, he's much more of a 'let's go in that dark cave and see what happens' kind of guy." Sparx mocked, then after a few seconds of being mute he frowned. "Actually, I thinks that's more of my style, but still I have never seen my brother 'plan' for anything." He corrected himself, and then speed up to catch up with Spyro.

"...Sky? Did that lantern just give me a nickname?" She asked herself innocently, slightly oblivious to everything else he said, out of Sparx's earshot.

Spyro, on his own accord, remained oblivious to the scene behind him, his mindset was thinking heavily upon Cyril's words before their leave. It directed to him, it concerned him; it almost scared him as well. The tone of the Ice Elder's voice and the desperate look in his eyes had only put more meaning behind his words, and every time Spyro thought more and more about how the world had changed it worried him that New Warfang may not be the great safe haven for the return of the dragon colonies.

He tried to stop his pondering on such events, an attempt to uphold an earlier promise he made to himself. Yet he couldn't back off of it, he was still learning about the world and this situation just seemed to be what the world revolved around in his perspective.

Luckily, he had dragonfly for a brother.

"Hey! Magic Breath! Stop day-dreaming! How much longer?" Sparx voice had finally reached his ears.

Promising himself to learn more about the chilling subject from experience instead of questions, he dropped his focus on the matter entirely and pulled his focus unto the much larger priority.

"That depends Sparx, we might stop for a rest somewhere in these plains, since Twilight Falls will be easier to spot at night… for me at least." Spyro said.

"You do see that there is no shelter in these plains, right?" Sparx asked.

"What's your point? We won't be here any longer than we have to. Besides, shelter or not, a nice bed of grass will be better than having to rest on the cold rocky floor of the catacombs." Spyro suggested.

"Twilight Falls is not too far away Spyro, should we rest now or later?" Skyla questioned.

Spyro looked below them; the setting sun was casting a long orange ray of light of the grassy plains beneath them. Looking closely, there didn't appear to be anything potentially threatening for miles. It was a good place as any to take advantage of the serenity before exploring the Catacombs yet again.

"Alright, we have traveled long enough; let's rest now for our exploration to come." He decided.

The three of them descended, making the effort to get more distance forward before they landed. When they did, Spyro and Skyla began to move the grass around for a more comfortable make-shift bed. Sparx simply remained hovering above them and ready to his place on Spyro's horns when he was done.

"Have you ever traveled around this area before, near the Falls?" Spyro asked Skyla, knowing only half the answer.

"My group and I scouted a few areas around here before. My brother was the one that told me the general location of Twilight Falls." She replied.

"How is your brother by the way? Did he recover from the attack?"

"He's fine; he would have sustained even worse injuries if it wasn't for you. He tried to come visit you during your prolonged slumber, but we couldn't let him go up there without an escort even if he was healthy." Skyla answered.

Spyro nodded, aware that 'even worse injuries' meant likely death. But then he was confused.

"What do mean? Why is he unable to travel freely?" Spyro asked. Skyla finally settled down but looked at Spyro with her head tilted in confusion.

"Oh, you haven't noticed? Lucran is blind." She exclaimed.

Spyro stared into space for a moment, looking back on that moment he saved Lucran and the elder dragon from those ice snakes. Remembering Lucran's movements and his reaction to Spyro's voice, the younger dragon did seem a little uncoordinated at the time. He assumed it was because of battle wounds and not poor vision.

"Well, once you see your brother again, send him my regards." Spyro said. The purple dragon then rested himself on the curled up grass and slowed his breathing.

Skyla had already begun to slow her breathing, but Spyro's last words disturbed her.

'What did he mean?' She thought. 'Isn't he coming back to New Warfang once we find the colony?'

* * *

"What are you playing at?"

"Hmm? Whatever do you mean, dear brother?"

"You're meddling… that attack with the snakes was unnecessary."

"It got everyone going didn't it?"

"OUR goal is bring dragons here! Not slaughter them before they even get the chance! If other colony scouts hear about this they will all remain underground out of eternal fear."

"Calm yourself, you need to place more trust in me. I know the risks; some things need to be sacrificed if you want the plan to progress."

"Those 'things' were our brothers…"

"Do you mean the snakes?" There was silence, then a deep pitched growl. The dragon continued, "Actually... yeah that could go either way if you think about it."

"If you go any further than this, I will kill you."

Surprisingly, the other chuckled.

"I know my brother, I know."

* * *

Time had passed; the sun had lowered to the point where the bottom of its circle was barely touching the horizon and the three travelers still slept in the abundance of curled grass. There was hardly a whisper of any wind in the skies due to the lingering volcanic atmosphere in the air. For Spyro and Skyla, they slept soundly without interruption, being a species adapted to such weather environments. For Sparx, however, he wasn't having such a calming time.

"It's like… the opposite of humid… dimuh. It's freaking dimuh out here." Sparx leaned over to look at the two dragons still sleeping around him. "How do they put up with this? There isn't a gust in the air and they're sleeping like it's a Monday or something."

The yellow dragonfly laid there for another second before deciding it was pointless to make an attempt to sleep any longer, Sparx flew off Spyro's horns and began stretching.

"Well, someone has to keep this group going."

Sparx flew towards Spyro and began 'knocking' on his eyelid. "Hey, magic-breath! Wake up!"

The purple dragon's eyelids started to flutter. His vision was still cloudy, but Spyro could still distinguish the fact that dusk was upon them.

"Time to get to work." Spyro reluctantly got off his bundle of grass and began stretching. Skyla was already stirring.

"How long have we've been asleep?" She asked.

"Not sure, but in this darkness the Twilight Falls shouldn't be hard to find."

"I'm actually getting pretty hungry." Skyla muttered, stomach growling.

Spyro agreed. "Yeah, same here, there should be some sheep by the Falls when we get there."

Skyla nodded and Spyro outstretched his wings and started to look around. Sparx stretched again, yawning as he did, and while scratching his eyes he began looking around the plains. He stopped his waking-up routine when he looked behind both Spyro and Skyla. Eyes growing wide.

"Let's see, the sun is setting there so our course of direction should be towards that range of hills over there." Spyro suggested.

"What? No. The Valley of Avalar is that way so we should go in the opposite direction." Skyla disagreed, pointing towards the other side of the sunset.

"No, Twilight Falls is close to the Valley, we should go this way." Spyro countered. Remembering the ambush they had received from the Cheetah Tribe.

"Uh, Spyro?" Sparx muttered. But Skyla was still in denial.

"How do you know that? Twilight Falls is upstream of the Dernat River."

"Dernat... What?"

"Spyro look at this." Sparx continued.

"Not now. Skyla, I was kidnapped by the Cheetah Tribe of the Valley of Avalar when we made it out of Twilight Falls. Trust me the area is near there."

"I trust you Spyro, but to my knowledge of Lucran's maps. Twilight Falls is recorded to be this way."

"Spyro!" Sparx cried, louder this time.

"Sparx, not now!" Spyro yelled, frustrated with his lack of geography.

Sparx sighed. "Oh my good spirits above... LOOK! SHEEP!"

Skyla and Spyro, both suffering from late hunger, snapped their heads around to where the dragonfly was pointing. But what they saw wasn't sheep... or even food for that matter.

There was no leftover volcanic atmosphere in the air after all, instead the cause came from the large molten boulder in its own sizable crater only a few meters away from the trio. Steam slowly drifted around the rock and the group was finally aware of a soft hissing sound emanating from the lava burnt earth.

"... That's... That's different." Spyro said bluntly.

"It's a meteorite from the stars... do you think if we knock on it seven times and back away it will grant us a wish?" Sparx asked excitedly.

"... No Sheep?" Skyla asked sadly. Her head lowering in sorrow for the lack of food in this plain.

The three of them stood there for a while, not entirely too sure what to think of the sudden appearance of the tall lava rock before them. Spyro take a deep breath and walked down towards the red-hot boulder.

"Umm, Spyro? Isn't the logical choice to walk AWAY from the mysterious... 'thing'?" Skyla called out.

"Wish for an unlimited supply of butterflies!" Sparx yelled. Skyla turned to him with a look of question. Sparx looked at her and realized his mistake. "Oh, and some fresh sheep too!" He finished. Skyla groaned.

Spyro, however, wasn't listening to the two them. Instead the purple dragon was lost in his own thoughts.

"If it fell, or was moved here, then why is the crater walls pointing inwards?" He silently asked himself. As he got closer, he could already feel the tremendous amount of heat the rock was letting go of.

It seemed... like a familiar temperature. Spyro couldn't quite figure it out. His memory strained to pan out to the times when he was action with the war against Malefor. As he drew closer, he couldn't help but feel a memory trying to tell him to run... but he couldn't reach it fully.

He was close enough now, we lifted his paw and lightly tapped the rock with his claw. His curiosity was killing him, he wanted to know what was so uncanny about this rock. Feeling his frustration growing, his placed his entire paw on the molten boulder.

Then it all came back to him. The flying, the quick turns in the air, the desperate escape, the dark magic crystals and the dives and head smashes and the collapsing of an entire castle building. Fear came back as well.

"Spyro! Run, now!"

He was still awestruck when Skyla screamed and Sparx cowering behind her horns. The boulder immediately shot into the air with a taller pillar of similar rock appearing below it. There wasn't just a boulder, but a giant arm-shaped rock dripping with lava.

Everything happened at once as Spyro turned and broke into a sprint towards Skyla and Sparx.

"Earth Golem! Run!"

It didn't take for the adrenaline to kick in and for the group to break off into the skies. The ground below crumbled and shook as more molten rock began rising from beneath the earth. As far as the could see in the rising dust and rocks, more of the lava and earth hybrid creature appeared. The hand that rose before the rest of the body slammed unto the ground, pulling up the rest of the Golem with its leverage.

Spyro and Skyla didn't need to exchange words as the earth below them was throwing chunks of rock and dirt into their airspace. There wasn't even enough time to say which way they should go to escape the rising monster. Sparx, however, was in pure shock as he was holding onto Skyla's horn for the sake his life. His wings wouldn't be able to move fast enough to escape. Instead he was trying his best to warn Skyla where to go.

"Woah woah woah! Look there! Ah!... that one!" He sputtered.

"Calm down Sparx... I'm... ah! I'm trying!"

Spyro was focused, he didn't know if it was because of his nature or his will but his instincts were on overdrive. He took quick glances at Skyla to make sure her that she and his brother were fine. So far the both of them were in tune, completely synced and doing their best to escape the rising Earth Golem.

Spyro dodged right, then swirled around to the left, shards of the lava rock just barely skimming his wings. He powered his earth and launched multiple projectiles at the oncoming downfall. They hit and the only thing Spyro touched was the debris.

He heard a screamed among the rumble and looked at Skyla to see that their course of direction was leading them straight into the biggest rock among the sky. Spyro viciously banked left and released a continued abundance of earth missiles. They were getting close and yet no damage was made upon the giant chunk of flaming earth.

Reacting to the next best thing, Spyro clicked in his ice element and turned to skyla and sparx behind him.

"Stay behind me!" He ordered, the next instant he faced the hazard and covered himself in ice. he then started to spinning, twirling like a huge crazy ice arrow and aiming for the rock.

Skyla and Sparx winced, prepared for the worst. Skyla was having quick second thoughts but she disregarded them and flew faster.

Spyro wasn't sure what would happen either , but it was better than nothing. He align himself with the rock and closed his eyes.

This was going to hurt...

He felt force of his speed and the rock's destiny down to the tip of his tail. At first he thought he stopped and he wasn't through. But his ice-like drill didn't stop. He knew that he was destroying the wall but he worried if the others would make it through with him.

Spyro didn't know how long it was until he would make it through. But he didn't want to stop and check, especially at this speed. He would kill himself instantly. But he was getting dizzy, and that made him fear he might be turning in random directions.

But in the next moment, the vibrating stopped and he couldn't feel the grinding of his ice going against the stone. What made him sure that he had made it through was the loud, unnatural roar crying out behind him.

Spyro released his ice element and was immediately hit with the sensation of gravity. He fell a few feet before finding the balance with his wings. His vision was blurry and all he could identify was the blur of red and black ahead of him.

Did he make it through? Or did he make a complete turn during the confusion?

He shook his head, wanting vision. But his first sense that came back was hearing.

"Well... wake-up call anyone?" He heard his brother asked.

"No, wake-up calls would come with breakfast... Sadly this made me even more hungry."

Spyro chuckled, he had nothing to worry about. Now he that was sure Skyla and Sparx could still keep up with him.

"Did we make it? I can't see a thing..."

There was a moment of silence, then he heard Skyla gasp.

"Earth Golem huh?... What was he doing here?" Skyla asked softly, still dumbstruck by the intense flight they had gone through.

"Don't know, but I think we gave that thing the wake up call, not the other way around... or Spyro did at least." Sparx commented.

Vision returning, Spyro could finally see the full Earth Golem ahead of them. It was just as he remembered it: giant, very bright, dark red, full of lava, one long spiked tail and morphed limbs that were mixed with ruined buildings and brick roads.

"But... you shouldn't be alive." Spyro whispered. "I killed you..."

"Are you sure it's the same Earth Golem. There may have been more." Sparx suggested.

Spyro studied the monster from the distance they were and looked at the Golem's jaw. He nodded.

"I'm sure of it, those buildings and the way his bottom jaw has been ripped off is a sure sign of it." Spyro confirmed.

The Earth Golem stood there, menacingly, its tail violently swaying across the now ruined plains. Flames began spreading around the monster's feet, but the Earth Golem remained in its spot completely still other than its tail. Spyro could see a bright blue hole gaping on the side of its chest.

"Didn't really give him much of a chance did I?" Spyro joked.

Skyla and Sparx didn't really see the humour, they had after all just flew through the center of a walking volcano.

"Does this mean we have to kill it again?" Sparx asked.

"If we have to, it shouldn't be too difficult in its condition but..." Spyro went quiet, rethinking what might happen.

Spyro wasn't too sure, it was either challenge this beast for the second round to prevent further damage, or look for the colony before they receive collateral damage in the catacombs. It was an extreme turn of events that Spyro wasn't prepare for.

"What did you mean by 'Rise'?"

Spyro's train of thought stopped, he turned around to Skyla and looked at her questioningly.

"What do you mean?" Spyro wasn't even sure if she was asking him or if she was talking to herself.

"You placed your claw on the rock earlier, and you began mumbling these strange words. Me and Sparx couldn't quite understand you, then you placed your paw on it and then..."

Skyla and Sparx exchanged looks. Skyla appearing more worried than ever, not sure if she should continue.

"You said... well you more commanded, 'Rise'." Skyla said.

"I controlled it?!" Spyro yelled. "I caused this!?"

"I-I don't know, it was just a weird event that's all..." Skyla replied, unsure if she had made anything more clear.

Spyro looked out to the Earth Golem again, still awestruck to see the monster again. He felt the need to destroy it again, but if it was true he had given it the command to awaken...

"I'm going to try something." He muttered, slowly drifting forward.

"Woah woah woah! Just a couple of minute ago you had the idea of getting close to something we knew nothing about." Sparx sputtered while flying ahead of Spyro and holding his hands out. "And now that we know it's a freaking Earth Golem you going to try again? How hard did you grind your head in that ice drill of yours?"

"Sparx, if I can really control it than maybe there's a chance we can use its strength to create a tunnel straight to the colony." Spyro suggested.

"That could cause major collateral damage though, even if that thing could find the colony." Skyla countered. "If it could find it, why didn't it destroy the colony during the war?"

"Because Malefor didn't know where they were!" Spyro cried out.

Both Skyla and Sparx drew their breaths, there was an instant silence between them, with the sound of the distant crumbling of earth's crust caused by the giant lava creature in the distance.

"What do you mean? What does Malefor-"

"Malefor controlled the whole war, he had the minds of every evil monster in his army within his grasp. Everything was done by his command instantly. If he could take command of this Earth Golem, than that must so can I. I ,did after all, just recently proved that point." Spyro explained, finishing by pointing his claw at said creature.

"Let me see if I can at least tell it move towards, then stop. I want to know if it's possible." He asked, directing his words mostly to Skyla in hopes that she could see any other idea to try. But after a few seconds of wordless thoughts, Skyla shook her head.

"You're the purple dragon, Spyro, I'm just a messenger."

Spyro nodded, grateful that he got some reassurance in this situation. He faced the Earth Golem once again and took a deep breath.

"Might want to keep your distance, I have no idea what will happen when I get his attention."

Sparx made a worried look and then flew off, not wanting to carry on an argument he knew he was going to lose. Spyro focused his attention ahead of him and tried recall the feeling he got from touching the tip of the Golem's hand earlier.

He was remembering... distant memories. It was like one of those dreams where you don't realize that what you're doing isn't normal. When he was learning how to use the four elements, he had make a connection with a certain emotion to trigger each power. For this it seemed similar... at least that was the theory.

Fire was this, Ice was that,... Convexity was an entirely different level on its own. To establish a connection with one of the Dark Master's creatures seemed possible if it was something done by a purple dragon. The trick was trying to find that connection without words of guidance from the Chronicler.

Then it came to him. Emotions establish connections to elements, memories however.

'Move Cynder! We have to move!'

The distant roar came again. When Spyro looked up he saw the Earth Golem slowly moving its mountain sized body in a motion that seemed as though it was stuck in the ground. The monster's head leaned down and then its rocky pillar arms slammed into the ground.

Spyro could see the shockwaves coming from the Golem's hands from the sky.

Then the creature roared once more before suddenly turning around and broke into a run on Spyro's position.

"It's moving, it's actually moving! My memory triggered it to obey!" Spyro cried out, smiling, excited he had achieved this all on his own.

"Uh, Spyro?" Sparx called.

"Yeah Sparx? Did you see that? I can control it just like I said."

"Soooo... How do you tell it to stop?" He asked worriedly.

Spyro's smile went away as quickly as it came: A giant lava creature was very swiftly making its way towards the three of them and he couldn't think of a memory in that moment of terror.

He tried to concentrate but the only thing that kept coming to mind was fear. He caused the movement and no he was too terrified to make it stop.

'Spyro...'

"What?" Spyro muttered.

It was getting increasingly closer. He could hear Skyla and Sparx trying to get his attention, but the purple dragon ignored them.

'Spyro...'

"I'm listening tell me what to do!" He begged. "I need that memory, let me save them."

"Spyro we have to go! You can't stop it, its only a mindless monster!" Skyla cried out.

"C'mon man, don't do this." Sparx supported.

The vibrations of the Golem's stomping was rapid and Spyro could feel the temperature in air rising increasingly.

It was now or never at all. He needed a memory of something ceasing movement, someone telling him to stop, someone begging to stop.

Spyro never wanted to remember her again, but lives were at stake.

'Spyro! Stop!' Cynder pleaded. 'Don't do this... there's always something.'

Then, after seeing the Golem fall to its knees, everything went dark.


	10. Haven

**Legend of Spyro: Corrupted Souls**

**Haven**

"Spyro? Spyro are you okay?"

It was almost beyond difficult to breath, making it excruciatingly difficult to recover from his black out. Spyro coughed, then made the attempt to stand but failed. His strength was enough to keep him awake, but he could barely move.

"What? Where?... How?" Was all he could mutter.

"Spyro you're safe now, you're with a friend." The calming voice spoke again.

The purple looked around in the darkness to try and find a shred of light for him to focus upon. It was a strange uncomfortable feeling, his wings and limbs felt unnatural and weak. His muscles didn't feel cramped but instead... unusable.

"Am I okay?... I can't see anything." Spyro asked, unsure if he had any limbs at all.

"I can't see either Spyro, but you're fine. Can you not feel anything?"

"It doesn't feel like I'm even in my own body." He replied. Surprised with himself on how calm he was.

"We did it though Spyro, it's finally over!" She exclaimed.

Somehow, despite the painful injuries, her voice was all he needed to know it was in fact over. Everything is now how it should be, and it all he ever wanted. Spyro let out a long sigh. He was finally receiving a long deserved rest.

"Yeah, it's all over... Thank you Cynder, for staying with until the end."

"I always will Spyro..."

Spyro was getting very annoyed with all of the recent blackouts he's been receiving. His latest dizzy spell had him sleep for over two days straight, it shouldn't become a habit in these times where speed is essential.

Due to this common event, he had become used to slowly regaining his senses. Those voices earlier, clearly talking about him, were his alarm and reminder that he had work to be done before he could rest.

Easing himself up from the ground, groaning from the nausea, he remembered his last memories: walking to the boulder, ordering it to rise, flying through a sky of flaming rock, then finding he could control the Earth Golem with his memories. Memories he didn't want back.

Shaking his head, deciding to focus at his new problem, he looked to around to find himself placed inside what appeared to be a resting spot in a cold chasm inside of a large cave. He was laying upon an abundance of different sheets and clothes. Around him there were plates of fruits, meats, and drinks. On the walls there hung drapes colored purple and gold with stitches that reminding him of his Rift back at New Warfang.

Spyro was at a shrine, his own shrine, underground with only one door that appeared locked.

He sighed. "Can things get anymore confusing?"

Skyla wasn't sure whether to cry for help or attack the dragons.

She had awakened only moments ago alongside Sparx in a small jail cell. Unlike the prisoner buildings back at new Warfang, her jail cell was ragged with iron walls forced into jagged cave walls to make an enclosed room.

After she woke up, she was immediately aware of the several dragon silhouettes outside her cell. Before her and Sparx could even share a word, they had become overwhelm with a pack of different colored dragon quietly looking down upon them.

In the midst of the confusion they had been brought out into the main cavern and presented before a larger pack. Sparx flew beside her scared and confuse just as she was.

It was breathtaking, at least a thousand dragons all stood before her with worried looks and confused eyes. Skyla could barely understand what was going on due to her hearing going in and out from her drowsiness. But what she did know, from the chattering and the darkened underground ravine they were both in, was that they had found the colony.

But what had concerned her the most, was not the fact their current escorts used force instead of words, but it was the reaction of the dragons. There wasn't a glint of hope or joy in their eyes… there seemed to not be anything at all.

These dragons stared at her… seemingly dead already.

Spyro was concerned that this may be an illusion. He was surprised just about everything that has confronted him since his return and something like a room full of mind-tricks wouldn't shock him in the slightest.

"Hello? I'm not amused by any of this... where are my friends?" He called out, his voice slightly echoing in the empty shrine of his.

When no reply came, Spyro looked around again hoping to find something that suggests where he is. When he peered over his shoulder, he realized he still had the shoulder pack Cyril had given him before his journey.

"Wow, I had completely forgotten about this." Spyro whispered, leaning below his shoulder and unhooking the backpack and lowering it to the sheets.

The purple dragon began rummaging through the sack, taking out a square compass, a small pouch, three 'icicle' rods that were colored in a pattern of blue and purple, one large shard of red crystal and another large shard of green crystal, and a journal of sorts.

Spyro set out the items out in front of him, staring at each individually, trying to identify them. He set a claw on the red crystal and the green crystal.

"These must be health and energy gems. Cyril must have put these here in case of emergencies." He explained to himself. Spyro returned the gems to the slots inside the bag, and picked up the pouch. He wasn't sure if he should open it considering how he knew nothing about everything else he had.

"Why would Cyril give me a berry pouch?" Spyro guessed, now slightly regretting the fact that he didn't bother to even ask what it was that Cyril gave him before he left.

"That square box is a Life Gem Dowsing Device. Useful for long travels and cave explorations."

Spyro looked up to see a dragon standing in the doorway: the dragon was around the size of one of the Guardians if not bigger, his wings resembled the Chronicler's, and his scale color was pitch black with dark green linings along his wings. His horns were thick and curled towards the back of his head, and his underbelly was also colored a darkish green as well as his wings membranes.

Spyro stared at the dragon, the stranger's yellow snake-like eyes stared back at him. Then, Spyro leaned down and grabbed the compass the stranger pointed out.

"Is this yours then?" He asked.

The dragon looked confused, then shook his head. "No, I'm simply just familiar with what you have is all." He answered.

"Then if you know so much, perhaps you could tell me where I am." Spyro already had a hunch of where he was located, but feigning dumb might give him more answers than acting smart.

The stranger chuckled. "You couldn't tell by the array of banners and offerings?" He replied in question, "You're in your shrine, Spyro."

"Yes, I figured as much. What I want to know is where I am, where is this shrine and where are my friends?" Spyro was getting annoyed, he felt like the prisoner, from what he heard earlier, he was sure that he was accused of something he didn't do as well.

"Friends? Hmm. It seems there must have been a misunderstanding of sorts. Are you speaking of the wind dragon and the rather annoying dragonfly?"

"Yes, the wind dragon is my companion and the 'rather annoying dragonfly' is my brother, Sparx. Where are they? What do you mean by 'misunderstanding'?"

"I mean that I had to take the precaution of securing them away from the rest of the dragons. due to how the situation appeared, it seemed as though they had smuggled you into the nearby cave we found you three in." The stranger explained. The dragon then looked up and his eyes stared into space. "You mean the Legendary Purple Dragon travels with dragons like her?... Interesting."

Spyro frowned, not enjoying the fact that the stranger was speaking as though he couldn't hear him. The purple dragon sighed and turned away and began packing his things back into the Travel Pack.

"You do realize she's an Ambi, right?"

Spyro instantly stopped what he was doing, already his attention was caught by new information. After all, among other things, knowledge was what he was after. Spyro placed the last item back into its respective spot and slung the pack unto his scales again.

"What's an Ambi?" Spyro asked in a calm tone. "For your awareness, I'm still trying to figure this world. You're going to have to explain things that are out of the ordinary."

The stranger stared again silently, as though he was processing Spyro's request and evaluating whether he should elaborate. Spyro held the gaze, if he was going to make an impression on whatever other dragons were here, he might as well make sure he was in control. Since Spyro's eyes were locked with the stranger's, he could just barely detect a smirk the dragon made for only a second.

In the end the stranger sighed. "It might be a good thing you know nothing about the Ambi. They are a very unpredictable, and since they are few of them and hard to identify, most colonies are cautious about who they let into their homes."

Spyro went alert. "Colonies? Are you saying this a colony?!"

"Rourgnarok Colony to be exact; we are what you were looking for, right?"

"In the longshot, yeah... we are looking for you." Spyro growled.

The dragon's eyebrow raised, "Are you wanting to see friends?"

"Could I make myself anymore clear?" He growled again, wondering if this dragon stupidity was equal to the rest of the colony he supposedly found. The ebony dragon smiled however, as though he wanted Spyro to be curious.

"My name is Zaneth, and I'll will be your guide in this crumbling ravine I call our home." He said, seemingly proud-like. He then gestured with his wings to follow him out of the awkward shrine room.

Spyro checked the straps on the backpack again then proceeded to follow his new guide. Like the voices from earlier had said, for better or worse something was going to change.

"Do you think we should let them know we're the good guys?" Sparx murmured.

"I think we're past that mark Sparx," Skyla sighed "that, and I'm not sure these guys prefer we even speak right now."

"What gave you that idea?"

"One of the guards nearly tore up my wing with his claws when I tried to rub my eyes." Skyla said solemnly. Sparx, wide eyed in confusion, looked around their location trying to understand how their traveling escalated to such events so quickly.

They were underground, very far underground... but there was sunlight. The area was a giant ravine that seemingly went from bedrock upwards. The distance between the two walls was around the same as it was back at the catacombs. That was a place Sparx remembered well, and looking up above to see the large amounts of stone bridges that connected to the walls of the ravine, this was a sight to see as well.

"Where do you think Spyro is?" Sparx asked in a whisper, knowing the question was already on both of their minds when they woke up, but never bothered to ask since they were currently paraded around like prisoners.

"I don't know, but that's what is worrying me the most. They may only be acting like this because they're worried about their safety and they still think a war is going on. So if they still believe Malefor is alive, then they know how he was a purple dragon." Skyla replied.

Sparx went silent, then the realization dawned on him.

"Then they think Spyro is an enemy!?" Sparx exclaimed, hardly keeping his voice quiet.

"And that us two are also with the enemy." Skyla finished in a calm tone, her inner emotions screamed otherwise. She took a breath though, trying to rethink things.

"I don't think it could be that bad though. They're completely cut off from the rest of the world so whatever info they might have is outdated regardless... I just hope that they don't know about..."

Skyla fell silent, her eyes drifted to the ground in thought. Sparx continued floating beside her, the two large dragons behind them keeping a sight to the end of the rock bridge ahead.

"Don't know about what?" Sparx finally asked, not comfortable with her silence.

Skyla remained ,mute for only a couple more seconds before looking up again. "Nothing Sparx, don't worry about it. Just keep your eyes out for anything we should be aware about. They haven't made the attempt to kill us, so I expect they'll be questioning us wherever it is they're taking us."

Sparx wasn't so convinced by her smooth talk, and still held the question in his mind for later. Instead he looked back up to the opening in the ravine above. He broke down into a whisper. The two black dragons guards didn't seem to mind their talking, but whenever a movement was made to do something besides walking ahead, their shadow abilities would claw at them furiously.

"I don't get it." Sparx started. "These two shadow dragons... they're almost... I don't know... fake."

This caught Skyla's attention immediately, since she had similar thoughts, but she played ignorant.

"What do you mean? They're just dragons, probably following exact orders." She replied.

Sparx wasn't convinced. "Maybe... but whenever I'm around Spyro, you, or the dragons back at New Warfang, I get this vibe that you guys are around. You let off this weird feeling to me that I just get a reaction to and it makes me aware whenever you're around." Sparx implored.

This was news to Skyla, and she found it intriguing, both by the fact Sparx was giving interesting information, and that he wasn't acting humorous. The ability to sense the presence of a dragon is extremely useful for finding dragon colonies. "Wow, that's interesting... I'm guessing you never wanted to share this with us before because it sounds crazy?"

Sparx didn't reply, this told Skyla he wasn't cracking a joke this time.

"So what is it that is making you feel uncomfortable?"

There was a moment of silence before he answered.

"I can feel the presence of every other dragon in this valley, which is overwhelming... but, for the life of me, I can't sense the two dragons walking right behind us."

"So, care to explain to me about what you call an 'Ambi'?" Spyro blurted out, since his guide hasn't spoken since they left the shrine.

The two of them were traveling in a small straight cave in an upwards slope. Their light source being a lined trail of glowing stones that, while being surprisingly small, kept the the whole cavern perfectly visible.

Zaneth, without hesitating or turning towards Spyro, replied nonchalantly."Well, the term 'Ambi' is a slang word mostly used by those who are not the biggest welcomers of the type. The official, more proper, name they go by are 'Crestrials'."

"Why the different names?"

"Both titles are defined the same, but Ambi is another word for soul corruption, while Crestrials literally means Twin Souled."

"Soul Corruption?"

"Let me explain the basis first." Zaneth said, avoiding the two worded question.

"They're a species of dragons that break the very rules of equality... so the others say. From a somewhat unbiased point of view: They're a rare breed of dragons with the distinct ability to control two elements instead of one."

Spyro, shocked, ceased his movement and tried to process the sudden revelation. He was suddenly reminded of when he had the thoughts of Skyla being an electric dragon upon first impression, but then shown she controlled wind.

"If Skyla is this Am- I mean Crestrial... does that mean she has the powers of both wind and electricity?" Spyro thought aloud. Still trying to get around the fact that every moment nowadays seem to put more surprises for him to catch up with.

Zaneth, slightly unsure if Spyro was asking him directly, calmly answered.

"It's by my observations that she is in fact one of them. Which elements she is in possession of however, are not yet determined. But, since you have been around her longer, you would have the better answer."

"And is she looked down upon for this ability of hers?"

"Yes, many don't see what she has as a gift but instead a curse of sorts. Others think of it as a birthright that makes Ambi born into places of power. Equally feel otherwise... In short, Spyro, they find their gift as an unearned access to power."

"Corrupted you mean?" Spyro asked, catching up Zaneth in walking speed and conversation speed.

"Exactly. I for one don't pay mind to the differences. As a leader I shouldn't be prejudiced in the first place. It's not formal."

"Leader? So you are the one in charge here?" Spyro blurted out quicker than he intended to.

"Who else could?" Zaneth replied,with a much more broader tone of voice.

"What do you mean?"

Spyro's given answer was only a smirk and no words.

There was more silent walking, a few turns into higher tunnels. Spyro wondered if it would have been quicker to fly instead of walk, the tunnels were large enough.

"So how does Skyla fit into this?"

"She is a stranger, who is also an Ambi-"

"Crestrial."

"-so I had to take precautions. Your friend should be currently under escort to a formidable room along with your dragonfly friend."

"I still don't understand the hate for having such an ability. I control four elements and I've never had a group of dragons call me names and insult my abilities."

"I think you're forgetting the part when I said that they are accused of having corrupted souls. That wasn't an insult. Their very soul is said to have been created by the Dark Master."

It was there that Spyro wanted to scream in pure frustration.

Sparx remained hovering beside Skyla's horns, terrified. The dark scaled dragons behind them stood almost lifeless, guarding the exit doors to the sizable room they were in. Which, to Skyla's standards, was far beyond necessary for just a place to have a conversation.

Circular in shape, three times as tall as Skyla for height, and about the same width as Spyro's Rift. At the end of the room was a stone crescent shaped seating arrangement that Skyla noticed was designed for a council of dragons... since it was similarly created as the one back at the Dragon Temple.

Sparx's eyes darted to one end of room to the other. Since the dragonfly was already paranoid from the two soulless dragons, the enormous empty courtroom was anything but calming.

Skyla looked back at their escorts.

"Who are we meeting?"

No response. The black dragons' pupil less eyes remained straightforward and their body's made no movement.

"Where is Spyro? Can you at least tell us something?"

Still nothing. As the two of them walked into the center of the room, Skyla silently agreed to Sparx's earlier revelation about the two dragons. They were seemingly dead.

"So... I'm guessing they're not bringing us to the diner hall then." Sparx said calmly, after the uncomfortable silence got to him. Skyla shoot a look of question.

"What? It's not my fault you guys haven't feed me." Sparx scoffed. Skyla rolled her eyes, already noticing the repetition of dealing with Sparx dull humour.

Finally, after a few more minutes of agonizing silence, there came a knock on the big iron double doors. Skyla and Sparx both turned around simultaneously, and the two black dragons parted as the exit, which was also the entrance, opened.

Spyro couldn't break away his gaze from the indescribable sight below. He and Zaneth stood upon a rocky bridge that connected from one end of the ravine to the other. Halfway, Spyro leaned over to see the view below, and what he saw was hundreds if not thousands of dragons roaming the ground and air.

"This is the colony?" Spyro whispered to himself, still overwhelmed by the discovery.

"Full and alive, still thriving thanks to my extreme efforts." Zaneth replied, the leader leaned over the edge casually."So... your plan is to bring them to New Warfang?"

Spyro nodded, still observing. "That's my objective at least. I'll need your help for the organization, but I can lead the way home." He reassured.

Zaneth didn't respond, and when Spyro turned to face him, he had the same expression he had before. Solemn, no emotion, and hardly blinking his eyes.

Spyro looked down the dragons again… this time noticing something different.

He observed one dragon, and watched it roam around the mass of the other dragons. Spyro then looked towards another and noted his actions… then the next. He kept mentally checking off what each of them were doing, and when he had seen at least fifteen dragons amongst the crowd… he couldn't believe it.

Not a single dragon was doing anything.

There were no homes, no side caves, temples, eating area, or even a simple stack of hay. These dragons seemed to be in a pit of nothing to do and what appeared to be no way out. It was though Spyro was looking into a pond of a thousand fish, mindlessly going about and making routes without purpose or common sense.

Spyro almost dared asked Zaneth what was going on, but he held back his words. Zaneth was the leader, Zaneth would definitely know what's going on. Zaneth might be the reason this was going on.

Once again acting as a dragon without a clue, Spyro got to his feet and nodded to Zaneth ready to continue. Zaneth wordlessly acknowledged and continued the walk.

Spyro took one last look at the disturbing sight, then followed the colony leader.

He immediately started to plan…

Skyla rushed to the opening doors, already catching sight of the their purple friend. Sparx, rubbing his growling stomach, took noticed and joined as well.

Spyro smiled and outstretched his wings in a welcoming manner.

"Skyla! Sparx! Where have you been, I woke up in a shrine I thought you two were my bodyguards?" He joked.

"It's good to see you too." Skyla replied. "We thought we lost you after you took out that Earth Golem!"

"That was amazing!" Sparx exclaimed.

"Heh… I don't plan to try that again." Spyro said honestly.

"Are you all settled?" Zaneth asked coldly,as the great steel doors slammed shut by the soulless shadow dragons. The trio's happy reunion suddenly became silent and the positive feeling diminished.

Zaneth smiled… it was a smile that Spyro suddenly hated and the yellow eyes along with it.

"The shrine you were in… did you feel anything there?" Zaneth asked coolly.

Spyro narrowed his eyes, unsure of what this had to do with anything.

"No… I felt dazed and confused but I didn't feel anything unnatural if that was what you were asking." Spyro replied calmly.

Zaneth sighed, the two black dragons walked up and stood on either side of him.

"I didn't expect you to… but I had hopes." Zaneth stated. "That shrine… has been here for so long… longer than you have been alive, Spyro."

This time, the whole trio started to feel an equal feeling of unease, and Zaneth nodded to both of his guards.

"It was a shrine to another great dragon before you…"

The ebony duo walked backwards and towards the door, and then began to depart.

"I have two questions Spyro. One… look around, does this place look familiar?"

It did look familiar, but Spyro didn't dare take his eyes off Zaneth.

"It does… and the fact that you know about my vision I had that day makes me distrust you even more." Spyro answered, this time cautious right down to his words.

"Then let me get to the point… This colony is all I have left. I can't allow you to free them from my control and ruin years of planning."

Skyla froze, Sparx started panicking, and Spyro only took a deep breathe… getting into a battle purple dragon felt a familiar horrid feeling from the moment he saw Zaneth's eyes.

"So I have One. Last. Question."

Spyro's tail nudged Skyla's leg, and then Spyro sent a small electric shock to her leg. Skyla flinched, but understood.

"Have you accepted your dark form?"

Spyro flinched this time… trying to understand the question while also figuring out what Zaneth knew that he didn't. Spyro thought for only a second longer before he sure of an answer.

"No… "

Zaneth shook his head slowly.

"You could have been so much more."

In an instant, Zaneth leaned down, snapped opened his wings, created a green crystallized blade around the edges of his wings, looked at Spyro and screamed.

"Face the wrath of Lord Malefor! Face the wrath of this Corrupted Soul!"


End file.
